Like A Rock
by Arielislove24
Summary: When Arnold and Helga had been together, everything had been perfect. Until it wasn't. After their breakup, both teens are trying to go back to normal: Arnold is trying to gather the pieces of his broken heart, and accept his new reality. While Helga is determined to hide her new deepest, darkest secret. But what happens when Arnold starts to suspect, and even worse, discovers it?
1. All The Good Ways And The Worst

**Hey guys! So, this is my very first Hey Arnold! Fan fiction. I am extremely nervous about this, but I really hope that some people will like it. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to improve (like finding a decent place to put my author's notes) and also let me know if you wish me to continue. Thanks for your time and happy reading!**

The blonde teenager fell to his knees on the grassy earth. He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it. After all these years of searching...hoping, waiting, and dreaming for this moment, it had been for nothing. He stared at the humble tombstones in front of him, reading the words over and over again, as though he could twist them somehow, to make them say something different:

 _Miles Raymond Shortman Born: November 9_ _th_ _1976 Died: October 12_ _th_ _2004_

 _Stella Lauren Shortman Born: April 19_ _th_ _1977 Died October 12_ _th_ _2004_

"NOOOO!"

Arnold Phillip Shortman woke with a yell and toppled out of bed. Breathing hard, he rolled onto all fours, his eyes wide open. "A-a dream..." He muttered to himself. "Just-just a dream..." Arnold looked over his shoulder at his homemade alarm clock. It read four thirty in the morning. Arnold sighed. _"How am I ever going to get back to sleep?"_ He wondered. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, his hand still shaking. Knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, he stood up and stretched, and headed over to his desk. He sat down and gazed unhappily at the cork-board on the wall. It was covered with photos, brochures, and newspaper clippings, all featuring one place: San Lorenzo.

It had been over fifteen years since Arnold's parents went to the mysterious country and never returned. Arnold had tried practically everything he could think of to find them, or even find their friend, Eduardo. But he had hit dead end after dead end. Arnold's eyes slid over to the old beaten up journal in the corner of his desk. It had belonged to his father, and there was a map of San Lorenzo in it, but it didn't help much in his search. It almost seemed like the journal was mocking Arnold, giving him false hope, and no real answers. He had even considered throwing the old thing away, but every time he did, he felt overcome with shame. It was the last thing his parents had left him, aside from his old blue hat. He couldn't just get rid of it. It was a part of him.

His eyes then strayed to the jar that sat near the journal. It was mostly empty, just some small change. Arnold shook it wistfully as he picked it up. It made a pathetic-sounding rattle, echoing Arnold's feelings. At some point, he had wanted to earn enough money to go there himself. But after doing a lot of research, he realized just how fruitless that goal was. Not only would it have been crazy expensive just to reach South America, but getting to San Lorenzo presented other problems. It was a remote country. It was mostly jungle with little to no human inhabitants. Most of them were indigenous people, like the Green-Eyes. Arnold knew that the Green-Eyed people would probably know where his parents were, but finding them was practically impossible. They had stayed a hidden civilization for hundreds of years. He didn't know their language, and his father's map wasn't very detailed. So eventually he gave up on his daring rescue plan and went back to hoping they would come back on their own.

Arnold sighed again and put his head in his arms. " _Why do I keep having these dreams_?" He said to himself. He knew his parents were gone and probably weren't going to come back. It had been too long, no one had seen or heard from them. He knew this, but why did he still feel so sad? Was it because he still longed for them? He had only been one when they left. He hardly remembered them. His grandparents were the ones that raised him. And he loved them, he really did. Then why did he feel this way? Why did he feel that there was a constant hole in his heart?

To take his mind off these uncomfortable thoughts, he turned his head to look at his calendar. _September 1_ _st_ _._ Arnold groaned inwardly. Today would be the first day of school, or as Gerald, his best friend called it "The _worst_ day of school." It was also the first day of junior year. Usually, he loved school. He loved his classes, especially history. And he loved his friends. It was just recently that it had become more...difficult, to fully enjoy his school life. Or rather, it had been one _person_ , who had made it difficult.

Arnold stood up and walked back to his bed. On one of the many shelves there was a small photo. Arnold picked it up and stared at it, letting all the feelings wash over him again; Frustration, anxiety, anger, joy, overwhelming sadness. And most of all: love. Love for the girl with the pink bow, the girl who always drove him crazy in all the best ways. And the worst. Arnold smiled sadly at the photo... of himself and of Helga Pataki.


	2. Chapter 2 Bittersweet Memories

**Yay! Second chapter! So yeah, I ended the first chapter prematurely mostly so I could see if anyone was interested in the story. Hope you all enjoy reading, please give me reviews, they are super helpful!**

Things between Arnold and Helga had always been complicated. Throughout their primary years, she had endlessly and mercilessly bullied him. He had always forgiven her, no matter how rotten her pranks got. But it wasn't until they entered sixth grade that things had started to change. Helga stopped bullying. Not just Arnold, but everyone. She was still quick to snap at anyone who annoyed her, and she still had the resident scowl on her face. But she seemed to treat everyone well... a little nicer. Arnold smiled fondly as the memories of that not-too-distant past came flooding back. It was also around the time that Arnold had realized that his feelings for the girl with the pink bow had started to change. She was constantly in his thoughts, dreams, and embarrassingly, his conversations. He always wanted to be around her; at lunch, in class, he wanted to walk home with her, and she was the first person he'd ask to hang out, before any of his friends. It had gotten so bad that Gerald and Stinky both threatened to kick Arnold's ass if he didn't fess up and tell her soon. Arnold chuckled at the memory of when he asked her out...

"H-hi Helga. You l-look nice today." Arnold said nervously. It was the last day of the eighth grade. Helga was busy cleaning out her locker for the summer. She had earphones on and didn't hear Arnold speak. If she hadn't bent down to get her bag, he wouldn't have seen Arnold at all. "What are you doing Arnoldo? Sneaking up on me again?" Helga had said with a chuckle as she slammed her locker.

"No!" Arnold said quickly, putting up his hands. "I-I just..." He trailed off lamely. Helga quirked an eyebrow. "What? What is it? Spit it out already!" She demanded. Unfortunately, her insistence only made Arnold stutter more. "I-I was just saying h-how nice you l-look t-today." Arnold said in a small voice. Helga blinked. "Is this some kind of joke Hair Boy?" She said angrily. "Of course not!" Arnold said quickly. His heart pounding, he realized he was running out of time, as Helga was running out of patience. After a couple of minutes went by, Helga rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "If you don't tell me whats going on in five sec- _mph_!" Her last words were cut short as Arnold grabbed her shoulders and kissed her; not caring that they were still in the hallway, not caring that the bell was about to ring. He just wanted to convey his feelings for her, as honestly and as straightforward as he could. Its how he was.

After the kiss, Helga had looked dazed, and asked him what he was doing. Gathering all his courage, Arnold looked deep into her eyes and said: "Telling you that I love you." And that had been it. They had started dating. Arnold remembered Helga's eyes had filled with tears, and she told him she loved him too. Those words were like a symphony to Arnold. After the school day ended, they left hand in hand. That had started out as one of the best summers of Arnold's life. They ended up going to the same high school, and had stayed together...until the beginning of sophomore year. On September 5th, they broke up. Arnold had broken up with her. He didn't want to, but he did. It had hurt him unbelievably when he did, but not as much as he felt hurt by her.

In the beginning, everything was perfect. They went bowling, to the movies, even attended a school dance or two. He was always the perfect gentleman. And Helga seemed to really like it. She would write him poems and put them in his locker. They always ate lunch together. But, as time went on, things began to change. Helga grew distant, and more moody. She wouldn't talk to Arnold as much, and she snapped at him more often. Arnold remembered asking her if he had done anything wrong. Helga just told him to mind his own business. And it only got worse after that. Arnold simply didn't understand. It always seemed like she didn't trust him. Not in the cheating sense, but with anything personal. He knew her family life was horrible. He knew that her mother was an alcoholic and her dad ignored her. He knew her sister was self-absorbed and her parents adored her, causing Helga to constantly live in her shadow. But Arnold wished that she had relied on him a little more. On days when she was especially angry or upset, she would close herself off, shut him out. Anytime he would try to make her feel better, Helga would lash out at him instead. She didn't like him to do things for her anymore, and she never seemed to like the little gestures he would do for her either. She'd scoff at flowers, roll her eyes if he tried to plan a romantic dinner. It got to the point where Arnold, just snapped. He remembered the day like it had been yesterday...

"Why are you always like this?" Arnold yelled at the girl who had her back turned to him. "Why do you shut me out? Why do you mock everything I ever try to do for you?!" Arnold had tried setting up a nice dinner on the rooftop of the boarding house. He was hoping that he could get her to stay for the weekend, watch movies, play games, and just be together. Like how it used to be. He wanted to help her take her mind off whatever had been bothering her. But as soon as Helga saw the elegant table, she lost it. She started yelling and claiming she had better things to do than sit up on some stupid roof and eat crappy food. It was that last comment that had caused Arnold to yell. And at his words, Helga whipped around, her face red with fury. "I never _asked_ you to do things for me! I don't _need_ you to do things for me! And I shut you out because your just So. Damn. Needy!"

Arnold was stunned. _Needy_? He was being needy for wanting to do nice things for the girl he loved? Needy for wanting to share her life a little bit? Arnold shook his head. "All I'm tying to do... All I EVER tried to do is love you! To show you I care! Why cant you see that?"

"Because I don't WANT TO!" She yelled back. She marched over to him and pushed at his chest. Arnold stumbled back, shocked. Helga had never, _ever_ been physical with him, at least not since they had been children. He looked at her with wide eyes. Her eyes were wide too, and they were shining with tears.

"I don't want you to do these things for me! I don't..." She stopped speaking and shook her head, as though to rid herself of the thought she hadn't finished. Arnold stepped closer to her, reaching out his hand to touch her face. "Don't touch me!" she shrieked, slapping her hand away. Arnold flinched, and he felt his heart stutter. He hung his head, and found himself speaking the words he had hoped he never would have had to say. "Helga, if... if you cant let me in... if you cant open yourself to me, or tell me when anything is bothering you... then..." He stopped speaking, and looked at her. Helga was frozen, staring at him. As he watched her, the fire in her eyes, and the anger seemed to drain out of her. "I'm sorry." Arnold said. "I-I cant do this anymore."

"Are you breaking up with me?" She said. The words were monotone, no emotion. She still hadn't moved. And she was no longer crying. An eternity passed. Neither of them spoke. Finally, Arnold took a deep breath, and nodded. "Fine." Was all she said before she moved past him to the fire escape and climbed down. Her face was still frozen, and she didnt look at him as she moved past him. Arnold couldnt watch her go, he just stared at the spot where she was not moments before.

"She's gone." He said in a hoarse voice before sinking to his knees, his heart broken, and cried.

Arnold remembered crying for most of the weekend. His grandpa had come up to the roof to check on them, but once he saw Arnold's face he simply helped his grandson down into his room and left him alone. Arnold remembered being so grateful to them for letting him be. They understood him better than anyone. When the weekend ended, they offered to let him stay home, but Arnold said no. He had eventually told them what had happened, and they said that they understood, and wouldnt talk about it unless he wanted to. When Arnold had gotten to school, he had found out that Helga had already spread the word about the breakup. But to his surprise, she didn't say anything else. Nothing about who broke up with who, or why. Nothing. Just, that they simply werent together anymore. So, since the gang couldn't get any answers from Helga, they went to Arnold. But Arnold didn't have the heart in him to tell them why. He felt like he would shatter into a million pieces if he did. The only person Arnold told was Gerald. And as always, his friend had been supportive.

"Mm-mm- _mm_! The nerve of that girl!" Was the first thing he said after Arnold had finished explaining. Gerald shook his head, arms crossed. "I think you did the right thing, man. I mean, if she isn't willing to open up to you, then there isn't anything more you could have done." "Yeah..." Arnold replied. "I-I just wish I knew... I feel like if I did...I could help her. I just don't know what changed..." Arnold looked at his best friend, hoping that Gerald might have some answers. But to his disappointment, Gerald shook his head.

"No dice Arnold. Even Phoebe doesn't know whats up with her. And shes tried, almost as hard as you to get her to spill the beans. Her mouth is locked up tighter than Eugene's ballet stockings." Gerald snickered at his own joke, and even Arnold managed a faint smile. "I guess... if Phoebe doesn't know anything... Helga really, really doesn't want _anyone_ to know." He hung his head at his own words.

" _How did things get so screwed up?_ Arnold thought to himself. " _Will...will everything just go back to normal?"_

Almost a year has past since then. And things weren't normal. They weren't as bad, but they weren't normal. Arnold grimaced and put the picture back on the shelf. He turned his back on his and Helga's happy faces and sat down hard on the bed. For the first few months, Helga avoided everyone, even her best friend Phoebe. Then, out of nowhere, she started hanging around the gang again. She even started to sound like her old self, but with one major difference: She ignored Arnold completely. She simply pretended that any chair with Arnold in it was as good as empty. She only acknowledged his presence when she was forced to, like during baseball games and practice, or in class. Even then, she never met his eyes and anything she said to him was civil, clipped, and short. She never let herself get any closer than a few feet, and after any exchange she went right back to pretending Arnold was part of the wall.

Seeing her act like that around him tore Arnold apart. He would give anything to go back to how things were when they had been dating, or even before that, when at least they were friends. But it was impossible. Once Helga set her mind on something, there was no turning back. This was just how things were going to be. Arnold had been lost in his own thoughts for so long that he almost didn't hear his alarm clock go off. Arnold glanced at it. Seven am. He sighed, got up, and started to get dressed for the first day of school.

 **Hi! Me again! So yeah, Arnold broke it off with Helga. As to why, you'll have to wait and see, if anyone is still interested. I'm sorry if this seems like slow going, but I'm hoping that readers will be patient with me. I'm still very new at this, so I beg you for patience. Ill upload more as soon as I'm able. Happy reading!**


	3. Chapter 3 Wearing A Mask

**Hi! Me again! Thanks so much for the reviews so far. Sorry if it seems like I'm uploading so fast, but I am a few chapters ahead, so I hope the pacing is ok. Here I'm changing the perspective to Helga. I'll be flipping back and forth between her and Arnold, so just a heads up! So, please continue to review and happy reading!**

Helga grumbled as her phone alarm went off. She sat up quickly and winced at the pain that shot through her upper body. She hissed through her teeth as she got out of bed. "Damn it." she muttered, before slipping out of her pajamas and walking to her closet. Helga looked at her array of clothes unhappily. She needed to do laundry, badly, but she wasn't in any mood to go pester Miriam for a trip to the laundromat. At least not today. She selected a pair of dark blue jeans that didn't look too bad, but it was a shirt she was worried about. All of her hoodies and decent long sleeves were in the hamper, and Helga might be a lot of things, but she certainly didn't like to smell. As she thought, her eyes caught something in the corner of the closet. Frowning slightly, she pulled it out. It was a long sleeved, red and black plaid shirt.

Helga stared at it for a moment before realizing what, and _whose_ it was. She promptly dropped it as though it had burned her. "What the hell am I doing with one of _his_ shirts?" she wondered aloud. Then it hit her. She had actually stolen the shirt a long time ago, but that stupid football head was so dense, he never noticed it missing. "Typical..." She muttered. She eyed the shirt grumpily. In truth, she had only recently stopped wearing it to bed as a nightgown. The memories had become too much. Helga only remembered too well how much she had cried while holding that shirt in her arms. No matter how many times she washed it, it still smelled the same. Like sunlight and eucalyptus. Like Arnold. Those first few weeks were well... they were what Helga called the Dark Days. She couldn't sleep, she barely ate, and she basically withdrew from everyone. She knew that she had messed up, had destroyed one of the only positive relationships she had. But its not like she could actually _tell_ Arnold the truth. It would only mortify him, and cause him to do something stupid. Like _defend_ her or something. Helga snorted. As if Arnold could defend her, or himself from the hell in her life. She eyed the shirt again. For some reason, she bent and picked it up. She held the soft fabric to her face and inhaled. A sudden wave of calm washed over her, followed by a prickling in her eyes. Wiping them away with her hand, she smiled to herself. "Oh, what the hell. Its not like he's going to notice." Once she had located a black tank to go under it, she shrugged both of them on, and looked at herself in the full-length mirror.

Helga was tall for girls her age, but most of the boys were either her height or taller anyway. She was lean, but strong. Her golden hair fell past her shoulders almost to her waist. Gone were the pigtails and uni brow when she was nine, as well as her tomboyish figure. She usually left her hair down, or in a bun. With her long hair, big blue eyes, pale skin and slim body most boys would drool over her, if they weren't afraid she'd knock their teeth out. For that reason among others, Helga never considered herself attractive. She tilted her head to the side and considered her appearance. Smiling slightly, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and began braiding it. She never did braids. Ever. It was too girly, too cutesy, too...well, _Lila_. Helga grimaced as the red-haired girl entered her thoughts. But to hell with it, it was already shaping up to be an odd day. _"Must be the shirt."_ Helga thought to herself.

When she was done, she turned to the side and admired her handiwork. "Not bad Pataki, not bad at all." She said to herself. She then turned and headed to the bathroom. Once there, she went under the sink to get her hidden makeup pouch. Helga grimaced at the bottles and tubes of stuff. Helga abhorred makeup. But it was a necessary part of her life now, if she wanted to keep her secret. Helga carefully unscrewed the cap of some foundation, dabbed a bit onto a sponge, and proceeded to cover up the dark purple mark across her left cheek.

Helga's parents had always ignored her. Always found fault with her when they did notice her. Usually it was Bob making all the observations on Helga's character while Miriam went along with it like a sheep. But it wasn't until her freshman year that things had gone from bad to worse. Miriam's drinking had gone to a whole new level. There was hardly a day that she was sober, even for an hour. One day, Helga came home from school and found Miriam on the couch midst several empty liquor bottles. Upon shaking her mother, Helga went into a rage about how Miriam was going to kill herself drinking and before she knew it, Miriam and slapped her across the face. Helga was stunned, by both the pain, and by who had done it. In all her life, Miriam had never, _ever_ struck her. Bob was sometimes quick to slap her upside the head if Helga got too mouthy, but she had always considered it something akin to slapping a dog. It never hurt really, just stung her pride. This however, was different. Helga couldn't ever remember being struck by her mother. And the worst part was that Miriam looked completely sane when she did it. Her face was set and there was a cold look in her eyes that said quite plainly that she knew what she had just done: And she didn't care.

It had just gotten worse from then on. Whenever Helga found herself in the same room as her mother, it was always a war zone. First the insults flew. How Helga was never good enough. How _Helga_ would never amount to anything. How _Helga_ would never, _ever_ be anything like her precious sister _Olga_. Her remarks on her appearance, her attitude, everything that made Helga who she was; was demeaned, ridiculed, and considered unimportant. And as if those all of those things disgusted Miriam to no end, the punches would follow. At first, it seemed like Miriam was out of it, like she had no control over her body. But soon Helga knew better. She knew exactly what she was doing. The alcohol hadn't numbed her completely. It had given her the clarity and audacity to hit and abuse her younger daughter.

Miriam didn't seem to do it as much when Bob was home, she was more discreet about it. Not that Bob would notice anyway. Something that Miriam was so kind to remind her of last night. Helga scowled at the fresh memory:

 _"_ _If you died, Bob wouldn't care." Miriam sneered as Helga picked herself off the floor. "He wouldn't even notice you were gone." Her hand tightened around the neck of the bottle she had just struck Helga with. "Oh yeah?" Helga shot back, steadying herself on the kitchen counter. She looked at her mother with blurry eyes. "Who's going to go buy your booze for you when Bob refuses huh? Who's going to keep you sauced enough to not even remember what year it is!?" The words had hardly left her mouth when she was on the floor again, the left side of her face searing in pain. Miriam withdrew her fist and crouched down to Helga's level. She reached out and grabbed Helga's hair and lifting her face to hers. Helga opened her eyes and looked into her mothers bloodshot ones. Despite their dreary look, they were clear, and sincere with every word she spoke._

 _"_ _You. Are. Nothing. You mean nothing. You are capable of nothing. And I wish you had never been born." With that, she dropped her daughters head and straightened up unsteadily. She then turned around and headed to the couch. During this exchange Bob hadn't even looked up from his newspaper. Helga slowly got herself to a standing position, and walked up to her room._

"Damn," Helga said, trying with some difficulty to make the stupid stuff look more even. Miriam was a lot of things, but man could she land a punch, even when completely wasted. Helga scowled. Its not like she was doing this for Bob's sake, or even her sister's. Olga was in Peru, teaching kids English or whatever, and Bob... well, Bob wouldn't notice Helga unless she was the newest flat-screen TV. When Bob was home, all the abuse and confrontations happened in low voices, with muted slaps and punches. Helga didn't care either way if he saw, but it seemed Miriam did. After all, keeping up appearances was what a Pataki did best. Helga snorted at her last thought. So Bob never knew what happened in his own home. However, if Bob stayed late at the beeper emporium, it transformed into full on shouting, kicking and screaming. Just two nights ago while Bob was out late, Helga made the mistake of brushing past Miriam on her way to the bathroom, and the consequence was being kicked down the stairs. Helga winced again as she took a breath. Her entire rib cage was bruised, but she knew better than to see a doctor. Finishing her cheek, Helga turned her face to examine it from other angles, trying to see if there was anything she missed. The facade had to be perfect. The marks on her body, she covered up with long sleeves. Her head, she covered with old beanies, to mask the bald patches of hair that Miriam had torn out. And her face, the makeup. To cover the dark circles under eyes, to cover the bruises. This was one thing she couldn't let people see. _Ever_. She did this for all of them: For the gang. For her teachers. For Phoebe. And...and for Arnold. She couldn't let them see her personal Hell. It was the best thing for them. All of them. So, like she did her whole life, she wore a mask.

 **Hello again. So now we know Helga's secret. I wanted to play with something different, and my thoughts turned to Miriam. We are gonna see her mindset and reasoning further down the road. And for those who might wonder how in the Hell is Helga taking this crap, well...abuse can do things to you. When you've been broken down, it'll happen. Next chapter we will see exactly Helga's rationale behind this. I'll upload next chapter later. Till then, see you later!**


	4. Chapter 4 Little Differences

**Hi again! So here is chapter 4, and I hope you guys will enjoy! Please continue to review and tell me what you think. Happy reading!**

Finished and satisfied, Helga put the stupid makeup pouch back under the sink. She looked back at her reflection and scowled again, trying to ignore the pain in her chest. She knew this was messed up. She knew, deep down, that she didn't believe anything Miriam told her, and that it didn't matter what she did. Then why did she feel so...hurt? Helga knew the reason why she hadn't told anyone, or called the police. It was because that although her life was an insurmountable hell, her parents lives...weren't.

Ever since the whole "use Helga as a punching bag" thing had started, her parents lives, and their marriage for that matter, had gotten better. Bob didn't pester Miriam about her drinking, and Miriam was actually...present for Bob. They had almost stopped arguing completely, and even went out on a couple of "date nights." Helga cringed at the very thought of her parents together even somewhat romantically. Still, it was kinda nice to see them working things out. So, Helga put up with it. It was just some bruises, no big deal.

 _"I can handle this."_ She told herself in the mirror. _"No one else will understand, but I can handle this. Its just bumps and bruises. Two more years, and then I'm off to college and Ill never have to speak to them again."_ With this mantra still in her head, Helga firmly turned her back on her reflection, and left the bathroom.

Once out of the house, Helga headed in the direction of Phoebe's. Even her best friend didn't know what was going on, and Phoebe was the most observant person in the world. Thinking that she had been able to fool her best friend for this long, she should have been impressed with herself. But she wasn't. Not even close. Seeing her on the corner, Helga raised a hand in greeting and Phoebe waved back. Helga hissed through her teeth as her chest burned again. _"Just get it together Helga old girl,"_ She told herself. _"You can do this."_ "Hello Helga, " Phoebe chirped as she got closer.

"Hey Phoebs," Helga replied, still trying to ignore the pain. Her vision went a little blurry as Phoebe slid out of focus. She gave herself a little shake and took a deep breath. Bad idea. Her lungs seared and she felt her chest contract. "Ow!" She couldn't help but exclaim. She quickly looked at her best friend, who had furrowed her brow and peered intensely at Helga. _"Shit."_ She thought.

"Helga, are you quite alright?" Phoebe asked. "Fantastic, why?" Helga replied through gritted teeth. "You.. you just said.. ow." Phoebe said in a smaller voice. Helga glanced at her, looking sheepish. "I-I uh...looked into the sun, that's all!" She felt her face redden slightly at the lie. Phoebe frowned. "Um, Helga? Its overcast today. The sun isn't even out." Helga stopped walking and glared at Phoebe. "So? If I say I looked at the sun, then I looked at the sun! Got it?" She had raised her voice by now and others were stopping to stare. Phoebe sighed and held up a hand in defeat. "Got it." Was all she said before continuing to walk. Helga followed her, still grumbling to herself on the outside but cursing herself inwardly. "Good job Pataki. Way to be nice to your best friend." She muttered to herself. She was so into her own thoughts that she barely heard Phoebe talking.

"Huh? What was that Phoebs?" She said, trying to make up for her outburst. Phoebe glanced at Helga again, but this time, at her attire. "Nothing in particular Helga, its just you look...different today. That shirt for instance. Isn't that-" "I had nothing to wear today and I found this buried I my closet." Helga cut her off shortly, wishing to drop it. "Ah, I see." Phoebe said, a slight smirk on her face. "And you think he wont notice it?"

"Of course not!" Helga snapped. "He didn't even notice me taking it, much less if I ever wore it. Can we just drop this Phoebe, please?" Phoebe blinked, but nodded. Still smiling, she couldn't help but add, "Your hair looks really nice too." "Ugh!" Was all Helga said as they rounded the corner, the high school in sight. Phoebe was still smiling, if only a little sadly. She knew how much pain Helga was in, but she wouldn't force it if she didn't want to. There was really no point. It had been this way for awhile now. And as much as it pained Phoebe to admit it, she felt like she was losing Helga.

As they neared the school, the two girls noticed two teens fast approaching. One, a tall dark-skinned boy wearing a cherry-red hoodie and dark jeans. His styled fro and sauntering walk made him unmistakable. "Hey there baby." Gerald said, looping his arm around Phoebe and kissing her cheek. Phoebe couldn't help but giggle. The other boy, a blonde, was slightly shorter than Gerald, with unkempt hair beneath a old blue hat. He was wearing a green zip-up, black jeans, and a red and black plaid shirt that looked _very_ similar to Helga's. He stood next to his best friend, hands in his pockets. He didn't say anything, which was odd. He normally greeted them. Helga couldn't help but notice the cold shoulder. _"Whats his deal?"_ She thought. Carefully, Helga chanced a peek at his face. He looked downcast, like something was weighing heavy on his mind. Seeing him like that made Helga's heart flutter. She knew that she was the reasoning behind his sullen attitude, and she hated it. Bitterly, she looked at the ground, away from him.

Arnold didn't feel much like talking. He had spent the entire walk with Gerald in silence, letting his best friend make the conversation. He had nodded when it seemed appropriate, but otherwise kept his eyes on his feet. Now that they had reached the school, Arnold wanted nothing more than to just go home. Especially after seeing Gerald greet Phoebe. He couldn't help it. He felt...jealous. Jealous knowing that he once had what Gerald did, and that he didn't anymore. Of course, it didn't help that _she_ was right there with them. Arnold sighed, letting Gerald's and Phoebe's chatter surround him. He noticed that Helga was quiet too. _"Well, I guess I should say hello."_ He thought sullenly. He raised his head and froze, his greeting dying in his throat.

Helga looked...different. Of course there was her hair, carefully braided but she still somehow made it look lazy. Her pink bow, fastened around her neck like a choker. Her same scowl, aimed at her own feet. But something looked...off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. She was holding herself differently, like she was trying to be careful not to hurt herself. The more he looked, the more he was sure of it. Helga always had perfect posture. Always. And there was something else. You wouldn't notice it if you merely glanced at her, but Arnold had spent so much time gazing at her features though to tell there was a difference. Was it a trick of the light? Her skin looked...perfect. It always had to him, but this was... _too_ perfect. Her normally pale face looked a little too shiny, and maybe...glittery? No, that wasn't quite right. And if you looked closely, the small amount of freckles that splayed across her nose were gone too. And then it clicked. Was she wearing _makeup?_ He couldn't help but feel shocked. Helga never wore makeup. She always claimed she hated it. She never even wore it on their many dates, or to any dances. Nothing. So why now? His eyes traveled over her face, then caught sight of something red. What he saw made his eyes pop.

His shirt. She was wearing _his_ shirt. Suddenly, Arnold was mad. Boiling mad. _" Why is she wearing that now? Is she trying to torture me?"_ He thought to himself. _"Why would she wear that, if not to mock me? It makes no sense!"_ Arnold opened his mouth, about to fire an angry accusation, when a irritated voice made him stop short.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." His head snapped up, and his eyes locked with hers. He couldn't read their expression exactly, only that they looked annoyed, and maybe...fearful? _"They're still beautiful though."_ He thought to himself. He mentally shook himself and opened opened his mouth to speak. "S-sorry." He stammered. His hand went to the back of his head as it always did when he was nervous.

"Whatever." Came her reply and she shoved past him and climbed the stairs into the school. Arnold stared after her in shock, anger, and regret. "I'll...see you class Phoebe." Gerald said, giving his girlfriend a hug. "Sure," she said, and she went inside after Helga.

"Dude, what was that?" Gerald demanded, turning Arnold around face him. "I don't know." Arnold said in a small voice. "You don't know? Man, you were gawking her like she had grown a second head!"

"I know." Arnold said, and he hung his head. Gerald sighed. "You still have feelings for her, don't you?" He asked in a low voice. "Of course I do!" Arnold exclaimed loudly, causing Gerald to take a step back. "Of course I still love her! Just because I-" Arnold couldn't finish his sentence. It hurt too much. Gerald patted him on the back sympathetically. "I know man, I know. I'm sorry. I just had to make sure, you know?" Arnold nodded. "But _why_ were you staring at your ex?" He asked. "Something looked...different, is all. Her hair was in a braid, and her face...and...and my..." Arnold stopped and looked at his friend, who was holding back a smile.

"Arnold, dude, she was totally wearing your shirt!" Gerald said, smiling broadly. "I know!" Arnold replied angrily. "What does she think shes doing? Is she trying to make me hurt more?" "Man, calm down." Gerald said, choking back a laugh.

"This isn't funny!" Arnold said. "Well, maybe its a sign," Gerald said. Arnold raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it could be. Maybe this is her way of saying she wants you back." Arnold shook his head sadly. "No, that's not it. I just probably gave it to her forever ago and she doesn't even remember." Gerald shrugged. "Either way, whatever s going on, she looked majorly uncomfortable." "Yeah," Arnold said bitterly, climbing the school steps. "Doesn't change anything though." At that, Gerald had nothing to say. He sighed, and climbed the stairs with Arnold to begin their junior year at Hillwood High.

 **Phew. For some reason, this chapter was difficult to write. I wanted to give some insight as to** ** _why_** **Helga deals with her mother's abuse as she does. Again, I wanted to do something different, and sort of explore her family life from this angle. I might upload again before the year's end, and in case I dont, I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who has read this so far, and I hope you continue to! See ya!**


	5. Chapter 5 Black

**Hello, and Happy New Year! So I was able to put the finishing touches on this one before 2018 rolls around. I'm really happy with how this part turned out, and it is a bit longer. Well, please continue to review and I hope you enjoy! Happy Reading!**

Later that day, Helga was still trying to ignore the pain in her chest. It was starting to get hard to breathe. She found herself getting winded just by going from class to class, and she could only take short, shallow breaths. On top f that, her vision was starting to get worse. Things were blurring out before snapping back into focus. It was all she could do to not pass out. After third period, she had escaped to a bathroom. After making sure she was indeed alone, Helga pulled both of her shirts over her head and examined her chest.

Stretching from her hip bone all up her side were dark, angry looking blotches. They made her skin look like paper that ink had spilled onto. Her right side was worse, almost completely black. That was where Miriam had kicked her. She twisted to get a better look, the air hissing through her teeth. She wasn't sure what had caused the damage exactly, be it either Miriam's hard kick to the chest, or the actual fall down the stairs. You could almost see an outline of Miriam's foot in the bruise. Either way, the pain was a bitch. "Criminy!" she muttered. With trembling fingers, she reached out to lightly touch some of the darkest bruising near the edge of her bra.

"Ahhh!" She exclaimed. She immediately removed her hand. She couldn't even properly examine herself without pain. "Pathetic," She said to her reflection, bending down carefully to retrieve her shirts. Bending was proving to be a problem too. "So they are a little worse than I previously thought." She said aloud as she struggled with putting the two shirts back on. "Nothing I can't handle. So fine, stairs 1, Helga 0. No biggie. I can do this. I can do this." Repeating herself over and over, she looked at herself in the mirror. God, she looked awful. At least the makeup was still holding up. Turning her back, Helga took a couple of short breaths, and left the bathroom. On her way out, she ran into Phoebe.

"Hey Phoebs," Helga said as nonchalantly as she could. Phoebe drew nearer to Helga's face, her eyes wide with concern. "Helga, are you certain that your alright? Your face looks awfully flushed."

"Nah, I'm fine," Helga waved her hand to dismiss her friends accusation. "Just a little warm in here is all." "I guess so..." Phoebe said, still looking at her friend carefully. "Oh! I just remembered! Today is the first baseball practice of the season. You are going, aren't you?" Helga looked down at the raven-haired girl and snorted. "Of course I'm going to be there. Those morons would be helpless without me." Helga wasn't so sure though. Should she skip practice? She shook herself mentally. _"There's no way I'm letting this stopping me from living my life"._ She told herself. _"Besides, If I skipped practice, someone would notice_ something's _up with me."_

Phoebe couldn't help but laugh. "Very true Helga. And I'll come support you as always. I am your best cheerleader after all." "Hoo-rah." Helga said teasingly, circling her finger in the air. "Hillwood High's famous mascot, Phoebe Heyerdahl, here to strike fear in the hearts of our foes. Seriously Phoebs, a shrub has more pep than you. You should really just join the team and be done with it." Phoebe laughed at Helga's ribbing, but shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I think I'm more suited to be inside the stands. But this year I'm going to give it my all! Go Hillwood Highlanders!" Phoebe said loudly, and pumped her fist in the air at her best attempt to look more "peppy." Helga couldn't help but laugh at her friends serious expression but stopped quickly. Laughing hurt just as much as everything else today. Regardless, Helga felt a bit better. As she said goodbye to Phoebe and ducked into her fourth period history class, Helga was feeling almost...kinda happy.

That feeling went away instantly as she saw who was in her history class. His blonde hair and blue hat were unmistakable. _"Damn it,"_ She thought. _"Couldn't I just have one class, just once stinking class without him in it?"_ She scowled, happy mood forgotten, as she stormed into an empty seat near the back of the class. She didn't so much as look in Arnold's direction. It didn't help that Helga was never fond of history. Who cares about some old farts and what and who they did decades ago? And why did she have to remember all those stupid dates? It made no sense to her.

All through class she tried her hardest to not stare in Arnold's direction. She felt trapped. She didn't want to listen to the teacher, since it was boring her to tears, she didn't want to look at Arnold, it always made her too emotional anyway. And now this constant throb in her chest was making her want to scream in pain! She dug her nails into her arm, hoping that _this_ pain would distract her from the _other_ pain in her life.

"Just gotta make it till 3:30," She told herself. "3:30, and I can go play baseball and forget everything else. Just gotta make it to 3:30." She continued to mutter to herself until the bell rang. Lunchtime. She bolted out of her seat faster than was wise and rushed out. She didn't notice in her hurried state, but Arnold had heard her mumbling, and was staring at her stunned. _"What is going on with her?"_ He said to himself before leaving the classroom. Not that he ever got to ask. Helga had holed herself up in the library during lunch. She hadn't eaten anything either. The pain was too distracting. Thankfully, her afternoon classes had been Arnold-free, but the rest of the day had gone by ridiculously slow. It was getting more difficult by the minute to sit through all her lessons. Since it was the first day back, Teachers were going over stupid crap like expectations, and responsibilities, and who knew what else. They also gave them a crap load of homework. Helga hoped that doing it would at least distract her. But first, baseball practice.

After the final bell rang, Helga went straight to the baseball field. She went to the equipment shed and started hauling the balls and mitts out, followed by the catcher's padding. By the time everyone else showed up, Helga was all ready to go. "Boy howdy Helga, in a rush?" Sid remarked, bending to remove his bat from the pile.

"So? I got others things to do today, so lets get this over with!" Helga barked back. She turned and saw the rest of the team walking over. In total, the team included herself, Sid, Stinky, Harold, Big Patty, Gerald, Nadine, Sheena, and of course Arnold. Phoebe was there as well, but instead of heading to the dugout, she headed to the stands to watch, waving at Helga as she went. Helga waved back before cupping her hands over her mouth and yelling, "Hey! Get a move on! We're burning daylight here!" She winced slightly at the expense her lungs had taken. Halfway across the field, Gerald shook his head. " _Mm-mm-mm_! I take back what I said. She's completely normal, eh Arnold?" "Yeah, I guess so." Arnold said, still unconvinced. He had told Gerald how Helga was behaving in class, but he shook it off as Helga just being Helga. Arnold hoped he was right. Helga was just acting so...different today. He still couldn't quite put a finger on it.

Once everyone had their gear, Helga split them in two teams for batting. Gerald, Big Patty, Sid and Stinky went into the outfield, while Harold, Nadine, Sheena, and Arnold lined up outside the batters box. Patty, the pitcher, stepped up to the plate. Harold was up first. Patty smirked at Harold. Harold winked back and took his position. Patty wound up, aimed, and fired.

Fast ball. Slight curve to the left. Just out of Harold's swing range.

 _THWACK!_ The ball landed in Helga's catcher mitt. Helga knew it would. What she didn't expect was the recoil as the back of her hand hit her chest. Hard. Even with the heavy padding, she still felt her chest throb in pain. "St-strike one!" She called out shakily. Harold turned and looked at her in confusion. _"Shit,"_ Helga thought. _"Gotta control myself. That wasn't even Patty's hardest."_ Helga glared at him until he resumed his stance. After nodding to Patty, the larger girl wound up, and fired again.

Screwball. They always made Harold Dizzy. _Swiisshh!_ His bat swung at air.

 _THWAM!_ The ball landed safely again in Helga's mitt. This time, the recoil was harsher. Helga visibly doubled over in pain, wheezing. Harold looked at her, completely bewildered. "Helga, are you o-" "Turn around and keep going!" She snapped back. Her eyes were going blurry again, and little specks of black were starting to form in her field of vision. "Strike two!" She called. Harold quickly looked over his shoulders at the rest of the group. They all looked as confused as he did, they just didn't know how to respond. Two people however, didn't look confused. They looked panicked. It was Arnold and Phoebe.

They both exchanged worried glances. Arnold was up to bat after Harold, and he nodded at Phoebe, answering her unasked question. He walked over to the edge of the line, and picked up his bat. He swung once, twice, three times. Each time his bat made the air whistle. It was common knowledge that Arnold had a dangerous swing. So when Harold got his third and final strike, everyone stepped back more than a few feet.

Through her blurry vision, Helga saw a pair of all-too-familiar legs step into the left side of the batters box. Arnold was up. "Perfect, just perfect." She said to herself. She signaled to Patty, who looked more than a little nervous but nodded. She wound up, but didn't throw the ball. Helga looked at her, confused. Unbeknownst to her, Arnold had held up a hand, signaling her to wait. He then squatted down, and peered at Helga through her catchers mask.

"Helga, are you _sure_ your ok?" His words pierced through her brain, and everything snapped into sharper focus. For a moment, Helga had froze. She gawked at him, lost in those green eyes, eyes filled with concern for her. His brow furrowed, his lips turned down in a small frown...

Then she crashed back to earth when the pain reached a new crescendo. "Get-get out of my face Arnoldo! Get back in position and hit the ball!" Arnold's frown deepened. Something wasn't right. Her face was paler than normal, her breathing was short and ragged. Her eyes looked dazed and glazed over. "I think you need to go home. I can take you..." He started, but Helga spoke over him. "And I think you need to get your ass back to the plate before I kick it there!" She yelled. They glared at each other for a moment, then Arnold gritted his teeth.

"Fine," He said in a low voice and stood up suddenly. "Have it your way Helga. I don't even know why I bother." He took his place in the box, his bright eyes narrowed to slits, focusing on Patty, and the ball. "Throw it." He said in a tone no one could believe. Was that really Arnold? Patty hesitated. "I said throw the damn ball!" He shouted. He was mad. Beyond mad. He. Was. _Pissed off._

 _"The_ hell _is her problem?"_ He thought as Patty started to wind up.

 _"Why do I even bother with her anymore?"_ His hands clenched the bat so hard he could have sworn the wood started to creak.

 _"Why does she still make me so mad?"_ Patty released.

 _"WHY CAN'T I STOP CARING ABOUT HER?!"_ He screamed in his head. He swung the bat with all his strength, letting all his anguish, frustration, and anger flow from his body into the slim piece of wood.

 _CRACK!_ The ball made a beeline right back at the person who threw it. Out of instinct, Patty ducked. Arnold chucked the bat and tore off for first base. The ball ricocheted off the fence, and Stinky grabbed it, chucking it as hard as he could toward Sid, who was closest to first. Arnold skirted around him and headed toward second. His breath burning in his lungs, Arnold rounded second base just as Sid threw the ball to Gerald, who was manning third. Gerald caught the ball by the very tips of his fingers just as Arnold ducked under him, avoiding being tagged by the ball. Gerald threw the ball with all his might after him. "Heads up Pataki!" He yelled. Helga half-crouched, bracing herself as the ball soared toward her.

"I don't think so!" Arnold snarled as he pushed himself farther. He was almost there...

"HA!" Helga smirked, just as the ball collided with her glove, she brought it down and tagged Arnold hard in the shoulder.

"GAHH!" Arnold screamed as he toppled over, face into the dirt. Helga held her glove triumphantly in the air as she shot up from her hunched position. "YOOURR OUUT!" She roared, smacking the glove into Arnold's head. Arnold glowered up at her, opening his mouth to speak, when his eyes widened in shock.

Helga stood there, looking down at Arnold splayed on the ground. She couldn't breathe. Somewhere, she could hear rushing water. Everything was moving so slowly. The tiny specks in her eyes were no longer black, they were red. And they were growing. She struggled to breathe. She thought she saw Arnold scramble to his feet to her, but she wasn't sure. She could hear voices, but not what they said. She gasped for air. She felt the pressure of the catchers gear leave her chest. It provided no relief. There was a fire in her lungs, her chest, her heart. It hurt so bad, she wanted to scream. But she couldn't. There wasn't enough air in her lungs. She could still hear the rushing water...how strange. Arnold's face swam in her vision before the redness took hold. She felt her legs give out, or maybe she was _floating_...she couldn't tell. She could feel something strong wrap around her, lifting her, moving her. She felt the ground moving under her, but she didn't know why. She smelled something...something familiar. What was it? Mint? No...lemon? That wasn't it... it was some sort of plant. She could smell it all around her, and she felt calm despite the pain. Now she felt something soft on her lips. It was brief, but oh, so familiar... now the softness was all round her. Was she home in bed? No, that didn't seem right. A sound like thunder roared in her ears. A storm? But the sun was just out... Someone was calling her name. But who? The redness dimmed, and she could see someone's face and beyond them, someone else. Someone with a very distinctly-shaped head... _Arnold_? She wanted to cry out, to say something to him, but she couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Then, everything went black.

 **Yeah. So, that last part was difficult to write. Anybody wanna guess what is wrong with Helga? Let me know what you think, and stay tuned for the next chapter! Happy New Year again, and stay safe out there!**


	6. Chapter 6 Questioning Trauma

**Hello again! Well, we have come to chapter six...this one is a bit longer, and the next one will probably be as long. I know I have been uploading at a decent pace, but it might become slower as tomorrow I go back to work. My vacation is over! But I will upload the next chapter as soon as I can! Happy reading!**

Everything seemed to move in a blur. One second, Helga was standing tall, hovering over him, a huge smile on her face. Then, the smile froze, then vanished. Her eyes flickered, and she suddenly fell over, right into Arnold's arms.

"Helga!" Arnold said, turning over so he could see her face. Her eyes were open, but it looked as though she couldn't really see him. "Helga! Say something! Helga!" He called her name over and over again. "She needs to go to the hospital!" Sheena squeaked. "Someone, call 911!"

"They'll take too long, she needs to get there now!" Gerald said, kneeling down next to Arnold. "You have your granddad's Packard?" He asked. Arnold nodded, trying to think straight. "I-I cant go alone. S-someone needs to go with me!" "I'll go." Phoebe said. Arnold looked at her and nodded.

Quickly, they tore Helga out of the catcher's gear and Arnold lifted her up into his arms. All throughout this Helga hadn't moved, hadn't said anything. Her eyes fluttered open and closed, like she was struggling to stay awake. Her breathing was ragged and wheezing. "You got her man?" Gerald asked. "Yeah, I got her." Arnold replied. She was light, too light. Arnold looked down at her. As elated as his heart was at having her in his arms again, he felt it break as he stared at her. He had never seen her like this. Trying to ignore the pit that was forming in his stomach, he shifted her weight slightly, and took off for the car, with Phoebe hot at his heels.

"Do you know anything about this Phoebe?" He panted as they reached the edge of the field. "I'm afraid not. I thought Helga might have been under the weather, but this goes beyond the pale for her." "She-she hasn't told you anything?" Arnold said, shocked at her words. Phoebe shook her head as they finally made it to the Packard. "Oh _shit_ , keys keys keys!" Arnold swore, adjusting Helga on his right to dig through his pocket. Finally grasping what he was after, Arnold managed to unlock the front passenger door. Reaching around, he unlocked the rear door and threw it open. Stepping aside to let phoebe in, he readjusted Helga again. He looked at her ashen face and he suddenly couldn't help himself. He cupped her face in his hand and bent to brush his lips against hers. "Your going to be alright Helga," He whispered. "I promise you, its going to be ok." He stared at her for a moment longer, until Phoebe's worried voice brought him back to reality.

He carefully settled Helga on the back seat, her head in Phoebe's lap. "You ok?" He asked. "Yes, I got her. No need to worry." She smiled at him then, and Arnold blushed. No doubt she had seen what Arnold had done. "Um, Phoebe...if you could, do you think you could, um..." " Your secret's safe with me, Arnold. I wont tell her." Arnold sighed in relief. Phoebe smiled at him again in understanding. She knew Arnold still loved her, and she knew Helga still loved him. She could only hope that whatever drove them apart...would resolve itself so both her friends could be happy. But right now, Helga needed help.

"We need to get going." She said, reaching over Helga to close the door. "Right, Arnold said, going around to the driver's side. It was then he felt something slick and somewhat tacky on his fingers. He looked, and saw a pale, creamy substance.. After looking at it for a moment, he realized what it was. "Makeup...I _knew_ it." He murmured. He got in the car, and sped off toward Hillwood General Hospital.

Both teens sat in the drab waiting room, waiting for news from a doctor. The nurses were shocked, to say the least, when two teenagers came into the E.R with a third in tow, unconscious no less. But they wasted no time in taking Helga away on a gurney and whisking her off somewhere. The head nurse, whose name tag read Rebekah Stover, calmly asked what had happened. Arnold and phoebe told her what they could, although it wasn't much. She then nodded in understanding and led them to the waiting room. She had said a doctor wold be with them soon, but that was over three hours ago. And nothing.

Arnold felt terrible. He knew, he _knew_ that something wasn't right with Helga. He knew it, but did nothing about it. He hid his head in his hands, wanting to ignore the empty feeling that threatened to consume him. If only he had been more observant, if only he had pushed more for answers... then Helga wouldn't...

He felt a hand on his shoulder and his head shot up. The hand belonged to Phoebe, who looked remarkably calm. "Don't beat yourself up Arnold. Helga will be ok. You'll see." Arnold couldn't see the optimism in her words, despite that was what he was known for. _Mr. Bright Side._ Arnold shook his head miserably. "How do you know that? How are you so calm?"

Phoebe gave him a small smile. "Somebody has to." She said, quoting one of his own sayings back at him. Arnold felt his lips turn up a bit in spite of himself. But they slid back down into a deeper frown. "I wish I knew what was going on." He said in a small voice. Phoebe shrugged one shoulder. "The doctor should be back soon, we just have to be patient." Arnold shook his head. "No, I mean what isn't she telling us? Something has to be going on..." He looked at Phoebe pleadingly. But she only shook her head. "Your guess is as good as mine. She doesn't tell me anything anymore. Its been that way... for awhile now." She trailed off, looking at Arnold uncertainly.

"In fact," She continued, still looking at Arnold, hoping to gauge his reaction. "I think she started avoiding me anything...about a year or so ago." Arnold looked back at her, shocked. Phoebe pursed her lips. So she was right. Helga _had_ started acting strange either before or after their relationship ended. But the question was, why?

"Arnold?" Phoebe said carefully. "I was wondering...what had happened with you and Helga?" Arnold flinched back like he had been slapped. "This...this isn't really the time for that..." He said slowly, looking anywhere but his friend. "B-besides, didn't Gerald tell you?" Phoebe shook her head. "No. When I finally got the courage to ask, he said that it wasn't his place to tell. I never asked him again after that."

"So why now? Why do you need to know?" Arnold said, much harsher than he had meant. "Sorry." He said quickly. Phoebe shook her head.. "No no, its alright. I'm sorry to pry. Its just...I'm trying to make sense of all this. Of why Helga is acting so strange." "Did you think I had something to do with it?" Arnold asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"No, not at all! I was just wondering if you had some idea when you two were together is all." Phoebe said. She looked ahead of her at the bland hospital decor. The room was faded, musty yellowish color. The chairs they sat on were old and outdated, much like the walls. The wall-mounted TV was on, but the picture was fuzzy, and the sound was off. It was as though the room itself was echoing their moods. She waited for Arnold to speak. Finally, a deep sigh roused her from her thoughts.

"I'm not sure really what happened..." He said in a low voice, his eyes on his hands. "I think it started around our freshman year. October, I think. It happened, out of the blue... Helga suddenly stopped letting me touch her. I couldn't hold her hand, hug her, anything. She wouldn't even let me kiss her anymore. She would laugh and make fun of me if I tried to take her out, or if I bought her flowers. She stopped spending nights with me at the boarding house. She never wanted to spend time with me anymore, she wouldn't talk to me. It felt like she was pushing me away... and every time I tried to get something, _anything_ out of her, she'd shut me out."Arnold gave a shaky sigh, unable to control the tears that sprung from his eyes. Phoebe sat completely still, not sure what to say, or do. Drawing another shaky breath, Arnold continued.

"It was like a light-switch had gone off. She seemed like a completely different person. In a way, it was worse than when we were kids... It got to the point where it seemed like my-my very...existence bothered her. I wanted to help her...I wanted to know...what was wrong. I-I wanted... to fix our relationship...to go back to how things were... but-but I couldn't! Something had changed the girl I loved and I couldn't do a damn thing about it!" Arnold's voice rose and cracked, giving way to choked sobs. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold the pain inside.

"I-I-I thought I had done something wrong... that I had hurt her in some way..." Arnold knew that he was losing control, and that he shouldn't do this in front of Phoebe, in a hospital where Helga was who knew where. He should be concerned about where Helga was, and if she was alright. Yet here he was, crying like a child. "It became... too much... so-so I gave up. I gave up on her... I gave up on _us_... I just c-couldn't take anymore..." Phoebe was stunned. She had never seen Arnold like this, so...defeated, hurt, and miserable. Until recently, he had always been bright, happy, and always smiling. Seeing him like this...she couldn't take it. Without thinking, Phoebe pulled Arnold into a hug.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry Arnold," Was all she could say. She couldn't think of anything else. She knew how much pain Helga was in after their breakup, but she never imagined what Arnold had gone through. On the outside, their relationship seemed fine, no one really knew what was going on. It was such a shock to everyone when it happened, and even more so when no one would talk about it. Now she knew why. So she did the only thing she could do for her friend: she held him to her and let him cry onto her shoulder. As for Arnold, he didn't care. He hadn't cried this much since it happened. In way, it felt good. So for a long moment, he let himself cry.

Some time later, Arnold straightened up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He looked at Phoebe with a watery smile. "Thanks, Phoebe... really. I'm sorry for crying so much." "No, its fine. It seemed like you needed to get that off your chest." Arnold nodded, and took a deep, cleansing breath. Phoebe took a breath too. "So, I guess were both in he dark. But what in the world would make her treat you that way?" That was what Phoebe couldn't understand. Helga loved Arnold. She _adored_ him. She couldn't think of any reason why Helga would do something like this. She could be mean sure, but never like this. And _never_ to Arnold. There had to be a deeper reason to it. "You ok?" Arnold asked, tapping her shoulder. "Yes, I'm fine. I just...don't understand. What is going on with her? None of this makes any sense..."

At that moment, someone cleared their throat in front of them. A woman was there, dressed in a doctor's coat over a navy-blue dress. She was tall, with reddish-brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She looked young, but something in her eyes said to Arnold that she was wise beyond her years. She looked at the two before her with a slightly stern expression. Both teens sprang to their feet. "You are the two that brought Helga Pataki here?" She asked formally. They both nodded. The woman smiled then, her features relaxing.

"Good. Follow me please, I need to speak with both of you, in private." Turning on her heel, the woman started walking down the hallway. Arnold and Helga rushed to keep up. "I am Dr. Eve, by the way. I've been the Pataki's private physician since Helga was ten."She said over her shoulder.

"Where's Helga?" Arnold said, struggling to keep the panic out of his voice. "Is she ok?" "Helga is out of surgery and will be in recovery shortly." Dr. Eve said in a calm voice. Both Arnold and Phoebe stopped short. "Surgery?" Phoebe squeaked. Her hands shot to her mouth and she stared at Arnold in alarm. Arnold was in shock. He was staring past Dr. Eve, not seeing anything at all, his thoughts in turmoil. " _Surgery?"_ He thought to himself. " _For what? What happened? What in the world would she need surgery for? Will she be ok?"_ Terrible thoughts flashed through his mind: of Helga screaming in pain... Helga suffering from some mysterious illness... and... his parents faces..

Arnold gasped as Dr. Eve put both hands on his shoulders. "Helga is going to be just fine Arnold." He looked up into the doctor's dark brown eyes, confused. "How do you know-" "Helga has told me quite a bit about you, young man." She said with a chuckle. She turned to Phoebe, smiling. "You too, Ms. Heyerdahl. Helga has had nothing but glowing things to say about both of you." Phoebe blushed. Arnold was still confused. Why would Helga's doctor, talk about him? Or Phoebe? Dr. Eve smiled reassuringly, and beckoned the two kids to follow her. After exchanging glances, they did as they were told.

After a moment, they reached their destination. An office of some sort. Arnold looked at the shiny plaque on the door:

 **Dr. Seraphina Eve, General Practice;**

 **Family Medicine**

Dr. Eve smiled and opened the door, welcoming them inside. Arnold and Phoebe walked into a spacious room that was certainly more decorated than the public waiting room. There was a large desk in one corner, along with some brightly painted file cabinets. There were two comfortable-looking chairs in front of the desk, along with a black leather chair behind it. Two of the walls were covered in bookshelves, most of them filled. Directly opposite was a large window, overlooking the hospital courtyard. The walls that you could see were painted a dark green, giving the room a safe, cozy look. Lovely paintings of lush scenery adorned the walls. Arnold and Phoebe sat down in the chairs and waited for the doctor to seat herself. Once she sat down, she eyed the two teens.

"Well, before we start, I need to make sure were on the same page." She folder her arms and looked sternly at the two opposite her. "Normally, I would never have this kind of conversation with children, especially about another patient, and especially without that patient's parent's consent. However..." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, suddenly irritated. "Helga Pataki is a special case. I know probably as well as you what her home life is like. Anytime I have tried to talk with Mr. and Mrs. Pataki about their daughter's health and well being, its been...difficult." Her eyes strayed to an open manila folder on her desk. Arnold's eyes traveled to it too. It didn't surprise him when he saw Helga's name at the top. Dr. Eve cleared her throat, bring back Arnold's attention.

"Because of the sensitive nature of this conversation, I ask the both of you that it stays within these walls. Helga may be a special case to me, but I will not have her private business paraded about. Are we clear?" Both Arnold and Phoebe nodded quickly, surprised by the doctors seriousness. "Good," She said. She seemed to relax a bit once that was out of the way.

"Now, when I first started as the Pataki's physician, I spoke with an associate of mine,who knew just how trying that family can be." Dr. Eve smiled again. "I am referring to Dr. Bliss, Helga's child psychologist." Arnold frowned at the name, but Phoebe perked up. "Dr. Bliss? I remember her! Helga used to see her quite a few years ago. Does she still see her now?" Dr. Eve shook her head.

"No, Dr. Bliss is a child psychologist. She stopped seeing Helga shortly after her thirteenth birthday." "Oh," Phoebe said, looking crestfallen. Dr. Eve smiled warmly and reached over, patting Phoebe's hand. "I know. Dr. Bliss had been a great help to Helga in her formative years, but sadly she had to stop seeing her, due to her age." Dr. Eve looked almost wistful for a moment, while Arnold continued to frown. _"I never knew she went to a psychologist,"_ He thought. _"What else do I not know about her? Did I ever really know her as well as I thought I did?"_

Upon hearing the doctor clear her throat again, Arnold looked up. Dr. Eve threaded her hands together on the table, her expression pensive. "In any case, onto the topic at hand. Helga has just come out of surgery, as I mentioned before. She has suffered a severe case of tension pneumothorax." Phoebe gasped, but Arnold frowned. "What does that mean?" He asked, the panic rising in his voice.

"It's a punctured lung." Phoebe said in a hushed voice. "Dr. Eve, what _happened_?" The doctor sighed heavily, and looked down at her hands. "We aren't exactly sure... we know that somehow, Helga has suffered some kind of trauma. Its the only explanation as to what happened. Her entire rib cage-" She said, as she pulled a photo from the file on her desk, and set it in front of the two teens. "-Was bruised extensively. Upon X-rays, we found several cracked ribs,which seemed to only put more strain on her lungs and heart. In other words, she was slowly suffocating...we know what happened, we just aren't sure as to how. Which brings me to why I needed to speak with you." Arnold nodded, but he barely heard her. He was staring at the photo in front of him. He wanted to vomit, to scream, to run away.

Helga was unconscious in the photo, her chest bare. But that wasn't the problem. It was the bruising that Arnold had trouble looking at. It seemed like her entire torso was black and blue. When he looked closely, he could see her ribs under her skin. Had she lost weight? She _had_ felt ridiculously light in his arms. And Helga had always felt...so sturdy. Strong and safe. He looked closer at her face. Her eyes looked sunken in, deep purple bags under them. And he could just see a shadow of another bruise on her jawline. What had happened to her? Upon closer inspection of her chest, one of her ribs was at an odd angle, like it had twisted somehow... Arnold turned the photo face down then, unable to take anymore. He could barely keep the bile forming in his throat down. As he got himself back under control, He heard Phoebe speak.

"So, what will happen to Helga now" Phoebe said in a small voice. Dr. Eve looked at both of them with a somber expression. "Helga is going to need quite some time to heal. From what we could estimate, she had been living with her condition for a few days, possibly a week. It seems as though a blow to the chest had caused the cracked ribs. Since it was left untreated, her lungs couldn't expand normally. This put them and her heart under severe strain, as I said before. Her heart was trying to over compensate for her lungs, which couldn't get enough oxygen to her brain. At some point, one of her cracked ribs pierced her lung. She was unconscious when you brought her here correct?" Both Arnold and Phoebe nodded.

"And it wasn't a moment too soon. A day later, even a few hours and her heart surely would have failed. We had to re-inflate her lung, which required us to re-break the ribs surrounding the lungs, in order for them to set and heal properly-" "Wait, re- _break_ her ribs?" Arnold said, appalled.

"Yes," Dr. Eve said patiently. "We couldn't risk them healing wrong and causing more damage. The impact from her ribs caused her lung to puncture. So, its going to take an extensive amount of time for her to breathe normally, and for the ribs and lung to heal. Again, we just know what happened. We don't know _how_ or _why_. We won't know for sure until she wakes up and is able to talk. And that is where you come in."

Phoebe and Arnold looked at each other, confused. Phoebe spoke first. "Um, Dr. Eve, I'm afraid we don't understand..." The doctor held up a hand to stop Phoebe. "Ill explain. You see, Helga had stopped coming in for her usual check-ups. I haven't seen her in more than a year. I've sent notes, and made phone calls of course, but I've never received an answer. As her doctor..." She paused and sighed, a slight smile playing on her face. "As an adult _friend_ who cares for her, I'm more than a little concerned. I've often considered going to her residence myself, but that would be highly irregular, not to mention awkward."She chuckled a bit at that last thought.

"What I want you two to do is try to talk to her. Get some answers out of her. We need to know what happened, so as to move forward with how to treat her. We need to know if this was an accident... or, something else."

Arnold straightened up. "What do you mean, 'something else'?" He said slowly. Dr. Eve eyed him critically, as though wondering just how much to tell him. "Let me ask you something, Arnold. Your close with Helga, aren't you?" Arnold opened his mouth, and closed it again. He didn't know how to respond to that. Sure, they had been close at one point. They had dated, for God's sake. But now... Arnold ducked his head, unable to answer.

Dr. Eve suddenly laughed. "It was a rhetorical question Arnold. Regardless of how things are now, I know that your the best thing Helga has in this life. You both are." She looked at Phoebe then, smiling widely. "Hey," She said to Arnold, ducking her face to try to meet his eyes. "I know you care for her. I can see it in your eyes. I'm sure that in some way, you love and care for her, Arnold. And that is exactly why Helga needs you. Something tells me there is more going on here, something that you two can find out."

Phoebe looked at the doctor with wide eyes. "Dr. Eve, just what are you suggesting?" "I'm _suggesting_ that judging by Helga's condition, its highly unlikely this was an accident. But, since she's always known how suspicious I've been of her parents, I know she wont talk to me. As the most important people in her life, I'm willing to bet that she will talk to you."

Arnold finally looked up, into the intense eyes of the doctor. He sighed. "Of course well _try_ ," He said slowly. He looked at Phoebe, who seemed to be on the same wavelength he was. "But Helga has been... like this for a long time. I'm not sure we can get through to her."

"You have to try." Was all Dr. Eve said. After sharing a glance, the two teens nodded. Without a word, Dr. Eve stood up and went to the door, opening it up for them. Once they had left the office, she beckoned them down another hallway, into an empty room. "Wait here, "She said. "They'll wheel Helga in shortly. When she wakes up, press this button here on the wall to call the nurse. Once her vitals are cleared, you can start talking to her. Good luck." And with that, she left Arnold and Phoebe in the room, closing the door.

 **Me again! So, now we know the extent of Helga's injuries. I tried to be as accurate as possible. To be honest, I used my own experiences for her injury. Not to get too personal, but long story short I was kicked in the chest by a bigger kid when I was about nine years old. Pretty much the same thing that Helga had to endure was my experience. Again, I wanted to make this as accurate as possible, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it. New chapter will be up as soon as I am able. Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7 Visiting Hours

**Hello again! I managed to finish this in the wee hours of the morning, so I am ready to upload before I go back to work. First, a few things before we begin. 1.) Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the people who have read this so far! Your reviews are very encouraging, and they honestly make my day! Please continue to review and let me know what you think! 2.) This chapter is longer like I said, and there is some...explicit language in this one. Just a fair warning! So yeah! I hope you like this one, and Happy Reading!**

Arnold and Phoebe sat in silence, waiting for them to bring Helga into the room. Arnold was nervous, very nervous, but not about talking to her. He was prepared for that. What he wasn't prepared for was to see her...like she looked in the photo. He wasn't sure his heart could take it. Hearing his phone go off made him jump. Looking at the screen, he saw it was his grandpa.

"Well Shortman, there you are! Your grandma and I have been looking for ya!" "Sorry grandpa," Arnold said. "Something...something came up. I should have called earlier." "Well, its alright, we were just wondering where you'd run off to is all. It's almost seven, and we got dinner waiting for you."

Arnold smiled. "Thanks grandpa, but I don't think I'll be home for awhile. One...one of my friends is... in the hospital." The smiled faded from his face at his own words. Phoebe reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, I see... you'll wanna make sure they'll alright." Was Phil's reply. Arnold was always glad about how understanding his grandpa was. Phil might be crazy at times, but he knew Arnold well. "It's your little lady friend, Helga isn't it? The girl you were with for a time?" Arnold gaped at the phone. "How-how did you know?" "I could hear it your voice Shortman! What, you think I don't know my own grandson? What exactly do you take me for?" He gave a wheezy laugh. Arnold couldn't help but smile again. Yeah, his grandpa could read him like book. "Well, I'll let you go, Arnold. You tell your friend to get better soon, and you get home safe too. Its dark out and the loonies are always about at this hour. Like your grandma, for instance." No sooner than he had finished speaking Arnold could hear a muffled crash. "Pookie, you get down from there!" His grandpa yelled. Arnold could briefly hear his grandmother's cackling laughter before the line went dead. Chuckling slightly, he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Everything ok?" Phoebe asked. "Yeah, it was just my grandpa," Arnold said, still smiling. "He was just wondering where I was."

"Phoebe nodded. "I told my parents about Helga a few hours ago. I texted Gerald too. He said he'd bring us food if we got hungry." At that, Arnold shook his head, despite the growl his stomach uttered. "I cant think of food right now." Phoebe nodded again. "Yeah, I understand what you mean..." She trailed off, unable to say anything else.

For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, each burdened with their own thoughts. Phoebe broke it first.. "So, any ideas on how to approach this?" Arnold gave a short, false laugh. "Nope, not a clue. You?" Phoebe laughed too. "No, I haven't. How are we going to do this?" Arnold let out a long, slow breath. "I guess... we can play this a couple of ways. Helga is going to know that we know something, so she can't talk her way out of this." "Maybe we can pay the sympathy card?" Phoebe said. Arnold gave her a look. "What? It could work." Arnold shrugged. "Maybe..." He crossed his arms, thinking hard.

At that moment, the doors opened. Both teens stood up. Two nurses were wheeling in a bed, while another nurse trailed behind with an array of machinery. They smiled at the two before setting Helga up beside them. Steeling himself, Arnold looked down at Helga.

She still looked bad, but not as bad as his imagination made it look. She still had bags under her eyes, but her color was better. Almost normal. At least she was sleeping peacefully. Arnold noticed that someone had brushed her hair. But he still didn't like the tubes coming out f her nose, hooked up to a machine. There was an IV in her arm, and a clamp on her finger for her pulse. At least hearing the steady beat of the machine told him that she was indeed alive, going strong.

"Sorry for the wait," One of the nurses said, finishing up with the machine. "We needed to make sure she could breathe on her own before we brought her in. The anesthesia should be wearing off an minute. Give us a shout when she wakes up, yeah?" Phoebe nodded to him, and he and the other nurses left.

"Arnold? You ok?" Phoebe asked softly. "Yeah," He replied, seating himself closest to Helga. He wanted so badly to take her hand, to caress her cheek, run his hand through her hair. "Its just...hard, you know? To see her like this..." Phoebe sighed in agreement, drawing her chair closer to where Arnold's was. "Yeah, it is. But she'll be ok. We just gotta be there for her, you know?" Arnold nodded, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Phoebe, did... did you happen to call Helga's parents?" Phoebe looked somewhat shocked at the question.

"No...no, I didn't even think of that. I assume that the hospital called them." "Then why aren't they here?" Arnold said, looking at Phoebe who had a strange look on her face. "I-I'm sure they're on their way..." She said half-halfheartedly. "Phoebe, you and I both know that's a load of crap." Arnold retorted. "Helga's parents aren't here because they couldn't give a _shit_ about her! I'm starting to see what Dr. Eve meant, something is wrong. Seriously wrong, Phoebe. And I bet its their fault." Phoebe was flabbergasted. She had never heard Arnold speak ill of anyone, ever before. "Arnold, you cant possibly think her parents are responsible-"

"Oh, wake up Phoebe!" Arnold said loudly, standing up and rounding on her. "You know what her folks are like! Her mom's a drunk, her dad barely knows she exists! You cant possibly think they're _not_ involved!" Arnold stopped, breathing hard. Phoebe looked down at her feet, unable to meet his eyes. Arnold flopped back down in his chair, his anger evaporating as quickly as it had risen.

"Your right Arnold," She said. Arnold looked at her, waiting to continue speaking. "Your right. There's no way they aren't involved. We both know that they're terrible people...but how in the world do we get her to admit it? She _hates_ talking about her family."

Arnold shook his head. "I don't know... I really don't. Be we have to try, don't we?" Phoebe looked at him and smiled. There was a glimmer in her eyes. For the first time, she was close to tears.

Arnold cringed guiltily. He hated seeing girls cry. "Phoebe, about before...I'm really sorry I yelled. I don't know what came over me." His hand went to the back of his neck, and he looked at the ground. "No, its ok..." Phoebe said quietly. Arnold looked at her then. _"Man, Gerald is going to kill me if he finds out about this..."_ He thought to himself. Phoebe sniffed and took her glasses off to wipe at her eyes. "I-I know this has been hard...on you, and-and its been a long day..." She said, hiccuping to catch her breath. "I-I don't blame you for being...angry, or...or-" Phoebe suddenly broke down in sobs, covering her face with her hands.

Appalled at his own behavior, Arnold quickly put his arms around Phoebe, rubbing her back. "In sorry," He said. "I wasn't thinking... I was only thinking of myself, I didn't stop to think how you felt through all this..." It was all he could do to comfort her as Phoebe let out all she had been feeling since this afternoon. Suddenly, a weak voice was heard over Phoebe's cries.

"Phoebe..." Both Arnold and Phoebe looked up. "Don't-Don't cry Phoebs. Seriously, its making my head hurt." "HELGA!" Both friends shouted at once, causing Helga to wince. "Criminy, are you trying to make my head split in two? What-"She stopped speaking, finally getting a good look at her surroundings. Phoebe got up to press the nurses call button. "Where-where am I?" Helga croaked.

"Your at the hospital Helga." Arnold said softly. Helga turned to look at him. For a moment, Helga looked confused. Then a look of fury crossed her face. "I'm at the freaking HOSPITAL?! Are you SERIOUS football head?!" She gasped as pain ripped through her chest. "Don't shout!" Arnold chastised her. "Do-do you remember what happened?" He asked quickly.

Helga thought for a moment. "I...remember being at the field at school... I remember tagging you out...then..."Helga's eyes widened as she realized what must have happened. "I...guess I passed out. You _seriously_ brought me here because I fainted?"

"No, Helga. It was much more serious than that." Phoebe said, sitting back down next to Arnold. Helga glared suspiciously at her best friend. "Define serious." "You suffered a punctured lung, Helga." Phoebe said quietly. Helga gaped at her friend. " _A punctured lung?"_ She thought. " _Just from one lousy kick? Granted she fell down the stairs, but damn. She ought to give Miriam more credit. Woman could be a champion kick boxer."_

At that moment, a doctor came in. It wasn't Dr. Eve. It was an older man, with graying hair and thick glasses. He smiled at the group. "Well, good evening. I am Dr. Crannel, I am the physician in charge of this ward. How are you feeling, Ms. Pataki?" His voice was formal, but kind. He also had a slight Scottish accent. He picked up a clipboard that hung on the edge of Helga's bed and peered at it. "Uh...still confused, I guess..." Helga rasped. "That's perfectly normal. You have been through quite the ordeal. How much do you remember?" The doctor walked over to the other side of Helga's bed. He pulled out a small flashlight and peered into Helga's eyes. He then proceeded to wrap a blood pressure cuff around Helga's arm.

"Well, Ms. Pataki?" He prompted when Helga didn't answer his question. "I-I was playing baseball...and I remember my chest hurting, and then I passed out. I don't remember anything else." The doctor nodded, still eyeing the pressure cuff. Once he took it off, he wrote something on the clipboard. "What about the accident itself? Do you remember what happened?" He took his stethoscope off his neck, and placed the cold sensor on Helga's chest.

"No...no, I don't remember." She said slowly, avoiding both Phoebe and Arnold's eyes. "The doctor nodded again, listening to Helga's heart. "Try to take a deep breath for me, as much as you can." Helga tried, but the air seemed to turn to fire in her lungs. "Once more." The doctor said, adjusting his stethoscope. Helga glared at him, but did as she was told.

Looking satisfied, the doctor wrote something else on the clipboard. "Well? What's the verdict? Can I go home?" Helga said. The doctor looked surprised. "Ms. Pataki, I'm afraid you'll be with us for a few more days. You need time to heal after your surgery. Furthermore, we need to make sure you wont develop an infection from your incision, as well as monitor your breathing. Also, as we have yet to get in contact with your parents, we cannot discharge you to them until they are notified. For now, your vitals are good, so I'd say that with continued improvement we can have you home in about four to five days."

Helga groaned. "Seriously? Four to five days? You've _got_ to be kidding me!" She winced again. Dr. Crannel chuckled a bit at her reaction. "Once the anesthesia is out of your system completely, we can start you on antibiotics and a pain management regimen. You'll have to take it slow for the time being, nothing too strenuous. Ill be back in the morning to see how you are. In the meantime," He then looked at Arnold and Phoebe directly. "I'll leave her in your care. I am going to see about contacting her parents." With that, Dr. Crannel took his leave.

"Great. Just _great_. I have to be stuck here in this hell hole, all because Mir-" Helga stopped suddenly, remembering who was in the room. Arnold raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what Helga was going to say, but he was willing to bet any kind of money it was the cause of all this. With a look from Phoebe, it was now or never. "Helga, do you mind telling us just _how_ you ended up injured?" He asked. Helga looked down at her hands.

"I don't know what your talking about." She said dismissively. "Helga, were not nine anymore. You cant just worm your way out of this." Arnold said, a bit of an edge to his voice. Helga shrugged. "I-I just...fell down the stairs is all." She finally said. She still wouldn't meet their eyes. It was Phoebe's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You... _fell_. Down the stairs?" She repeated.

"Y-yeah. You know how I am. I wasn't watching where I was going, and bam! Down I went..." She chuckled weakly. "Clumsy me..." Arnold narrowed his eyes. "How dumb do you think we are?" He demanded. Helga flinched at his harsher tone. "You think either of us believe that?" He continued. He knew Helga would come up with some lame excuse, but this time... Arnold wasn't having any of it.

"You calling me a liar?" Helga snapped, raising her head at last and locking eyes with Arnold. "Damn straight I am." He snapped back. "Do you know how worried Phoebe has been about you? How worried _I've_ been? You could have died, all because your too stubborn to ask for anyone's help!"

"I don't _need_ your help!" Helga retorted. Her chest stung, but she didn't care. "And so what if I had _died_? Its not like it would have been a great _loss_! Its not like time would have stopped or anything! You, Phoebe, the gang. All of you would have continued your lives. What the hell is _my life_ worth anyway!?" Helga was crying by now, the hot tears streaming down her face. Phoebe had her hands over her mouth, too stunned to speak. Arnold had his mouth open, unable to believe what he was hearing. _"She thought her life didn't matter?_ He wondered. _Was that truly how she felt? How could she think that, and how could she think that we felt that way about her?"_

"Helga..." Phoebe said through trembling fingers. "You...you have always been my...best friend. How-how could you think...how could you _ever_ think..." She couldn't finish her thought. She just looked Helga with wide eyes. Arnold shook his head. "Helga, like it or not... we are here for you. We both care what happens to you. We..." He hesitated, wondering if he should even bring this up. " _We_ might not be together anymore... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be... _devastated_ if you died. I still want you around. I _need_ you around. We both do. So, please...if your thinking with our best interests...then let us help you. Please."

Helga looked at him. Looked at Phoebe. The three stared at each other for a long moment. Then, Phoebe's cell phone rang, causing all three of them to jump. Phoebe scrambled to unlock her phone.

"Hello? Hi Gerald." Phoebe said, getting up and walking to the other side of Helga's bed. "No, no I'm fine...yes, she's awake...no, we haven't yet..." Phoebe glanced at Arnold quickly. "Yes, we've been here all afternoon... I know that, but...yes, yes your right." Phoebe sighed and smiled. "Ok, Ill meet you outside. I love you too. Bye." She hung up the phone, still smiling. "Gerald is picking me up to go get some food. Do you want us to bring you anything Arnold?"

Arnold shook his head. "No, I'm fine." "Arnold, go with Phoebe. I'm not going anywhere..." Helga said grumpily. She was wiping her eyes, clearly embarrassed about her little episode. Arnold looked at her and frowned. His mind made up, he adjusted himself on his chair and folded his arms. "Nope. I'm going to stay right here. Phoebe, you go wait for Gerald. I'll be alright."

Helga sighed, and shook her head, defeated. Phoebe came closer to her and gently put her arms around her friend. Helga immediately stiffened, but didn't push her away. "I am so, _so_ glad your ok Helga..." Phoebe whispered. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Helga said, awkwardly patting her on the back. "Now go and get yourself some grub." Phoebe laughed then, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she let go. She waved at them both before departing.

Once the door closed, Arnold sighed. "Phoebe really cares about you, you know." He said in a low voice. Helga was staring at the door Phoebe just went through. "I know." was all she said. Arnold took the moment to study her face. She looked tired, and it seemed like she was still in some pain. _"At least she's looking a little better,"_ He thought. It was then he noticed the dark bruise on her cheek. Striking while the iron was hot, he spoke again. "You feel like explaining that?"

Helga looked at him. "Explain what?" She said. Arnold raised his eyebrows and pointed at her face. Helga reached out and touched the bruise. "Oh, this..." She said quietly. "Yeah, _that_. Are you going to tell me the _stairs_ did that too?" Arnold said angrily. "So what if I did? Its not like its your business." Helga muttered. Arnold took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Helga, I'm getting _really_ tired of you dodging the subject." "So drop it." Helga retorted.

"We both know that's not going to happen. I'm staying here until I find out whats going on with you." "I think we both know that you have lost that privilege." She said, her voice full of bitterness. Arnold couldn't help but feel a little stunned. "Don't turn this around-" He started to say, but it was then the door opened. A slightly harried nurse came in, followed by none other than Helga's parents.

"About time you took us to the right room!" Bob barked. The nurse hastily apologized and scurried off at his words. "Lousy nancy boy... took us to three different rooms before we finally got here. So? Whats the story girl? What did you do _this_ time?" Bob crossed to Helga's bedside in three strides, arms crossed. Miriam had followed Bob inside as silently as a ghost. She stood beside her husband, swaying slightly.

"I got a business to run, and here I find out you went ahead and got yourself stuck in here!" Bob continued, sticking his large finger in Helga's face. This never, _ever_ would have happened to Olga!" Miriam nodded, silently agreeing with Bob. During this exchange, Helga kept her head down, unable to say anything.

Arnold's face darkened. As much as he tried to see the good in people, he never could see it in Helga's parents. Truth be told, he didn't like them. At all. Despite his better judgment, he spoke.

"Helga just had surgery. I don't think that any of this is _her_ fault." He said through gritted teeth. Bob turned to him, as though just noticing he was there. Miriam though, kept her eyes on Helga.

"Oh, its you...Alfred. What are you doing here?" "Arnold." The boy replied. "Eh?" Bob responded. "My name. Its Arnold. I think I've told you enough times. As for what I'm doing here, I'm here for Helga. You know, to _support_ her. Something you don't know a damn thing about.." Arnold stood up, his hands curled into fists. For some reason, seeing them here, blaming Helga for what happened...it was bringing out the worst in him.

"Hey hey hey! What makes you think you can talk to me like that?" Bob said, his voice quickly rising. "Whats the matter, _Big Bob_? Worried you might have to act like a decent human being for once?" Arnold hissed through his teeth. "You know what? You make me sick. All her life you have berated her, filling her head with lies, telling her she isn't worth anything. But she is worth something to me! Helga is a wonderful, passionate, _beautiful_ person. And I can/'t see for the life of me how she ended up with parents like you!"

Helga sat there, stunned. She couldn't believe that Arnold was standing there, defending her. Arnold hadn't exactly kept his disdain for her parents a secret, but he was always cordial with them. She didn't want to admit it, but seeing him tell Bob off... it caused her heart to swell. He had called her beautiful. Passionate. Wonderful. She hadn't hurt those words from him in so long...

"You always blame Helga for things she didn't do, or things she can't control. And now your going to try to lay blame on her again, _now_ of all times? She needs to _heal_ , she doesn't need to be bullied by you!" Arnold stop to breathe, chest heaving. The two stared daggers at each other, each waiting for the other to act first. Arnold braced himself for a fight. He knew he had provoked Bob, but he didn't care.

Bob looked like he very well wanted to hit Arnold, but after glancing at Helga, he instead turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind him. "Tell me when the orphan boy leaves!" He shouted through the door. Arnold flinched, but only a little bit.. He sighed, and turned to Helga, who hadn't said a word since her folks had come in.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt his face turn red. Helga opened her mouth to speak, but a hand reached down and clamped on her shoulder, hard. She flinched and looked up into the eyes of her mother. But she wasn't looking at her. She was focused on Arnold.  
"I think you need to learn some manners, young man." She said, a little shakily. "I don't know _what_ gives you the right to talk to an adult like that, but I suggest you go and take a walk. Come back here when you can behave yourself."

Arnold gaped at her. He was honestly surprised. He didn't think Miriam noticed anything. In truth, he had barely spoken to her, even when he and Helga had been together. She had always seemed meek and out fit to him. To now hear her talk to him in that tone... it unsettled him.

"I...I'm sorry, Mrs. Pataki. That was... rude of me. Please, forgive my behavior." Arnold said, still uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him. Helga looked like a deer caught in a trap. Her eyes shot back and forth between her mother and Arnold, unsure of what to do.

"Your apology is accepted, Arnold. But I still need you to leave. I need to have a _private_ word with Helga." Miriam said coolly. Unbeknownst to Arnold, she slightly increased the pressure on Helga's shoulder, digging her nails into her flesh. Helga tried with all her might to resist wincing in pain. Her eyes locked on Arnold's face, silently begging him to not leave her alone. Arnold's green eyes strayed to hers for an instant. They widened slightly. Just as quickly, they darted back to her mother.

"I...I would rather stay here, if that's alright." He said slowly. "I can go to the other bed and wait behind the curtain so you could talk." He smiled nervously. _"Why does she make me so uncomfortable?_ He thought. " _Something is not right here...I have this terrible feeling in my gut."_

"I asked you to leave. Now you can leave on your own, or I will have you _thrown_ out." Miriam's voice seemed to radiate hostility. It was a tense moment. Arnold didn't want to leave Helga alone with her. His every instinct was screaming at him to just take Helga and _run_. But he also knew that as her parents, they could easily throw him out and forbid him from seeing her. He couldn't let that happen. He suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it. It was Gerald. He sighed. Against his better judgment, he relented. He looked at Helga, trying to reassure her.

"Ill be right back." He said, and smiled at her. Helga started to say something, but a look from her mother silenced her. Arnold's smile disappeared. "I wont be far," He said, both to Helga and more importantly, her mother. Without another word, Arnold turned and walked from the room.

Arnold started walking slowly down the hallway. Pulling out his phone, he noticed that it was almost nine-thirty. The hallway was deserted. Stopping to lean against the empty nurse's station, Arnold looked more closely at the message from Gerald:

 **Gerald: Hey man. Phoebe got you a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake. Were on our way back now.**

 **Me: Thanks Gerald. And thank Phoebe too.**

 **Gerald: NP. Phoebe told me what happened to Helga. Man! Girl can't seem to catch a break. Phoebe thinks she's lying about how it happened. What do you think?**

 **Me: I think so too. Even more so now. But we can't get anything out of her.**

 **Gerald: That's Helga for you. So what are you gonna do now?**

 **Me: I'm not sure. Helga's parents are here now too. I can't explain it, but something doesn't sit right with me...**

He had just finished sending that last message when he heard a small crash from the room he just left. He turned, staring at the door that led to Helga's room. It was dead silent in the hallway. Arnold strained his ears, listening hard. A second later, he thought he heard a gasp of pain coming from the room. Without a second thought Arnold tore back to the door and flung it open.

"Helga! Are you-" He stopped short, a horrific sight meeting his eyes.

Miriam was hunched over the bed, one hand knotted in Helga's hair, forcing her head back. The other was pressed hard into her chest, preventing her from moving. Helga's eyes were swimming with tears, her face scrunched in pain. He could see a fresh red mark on the right side of her face. Miriam had knocked over the small stool that had resided near the bed, resulting in the crash Arnold had heard. At first, neither of them noticed Arnold had reentered the room. Then Arnold was at the bed in an instant, tearing Miriam off of Helga.

"The hell do you think your doing?!" He shouted. Miriam staggered back, but she hadn't fallen. She looked at Arnold like she wasn't quite sure what he was doing there. Arnold placed himself between them, shielding Helga with both his arms outstretched, glaring at Miriam with absolute hatred in his eyes.

"How _dare_ you," He spat, looking at the haggard woman in front of him. Miriam shook her head from side to side, like a serpent before its charmer. "You misunderstand... Helga was being hysterical...I was only trying to-"

"BULLSHIT!" Arnold roared, taking a single step toward her. He was breathing heavy, and he was starting to see red. "You listen to me," He growled, his eyes narrowed to slits. He pointed at Miriam with a shaking hand. "You fucking touch her again, and I swear...I will end your miserable existence! Now get the _fuck_ out of here!"

Miriam stopped shaking her head. Her own eyes narrowed as she advanced on Arnold. "You cant talk to me like-"

"NOW!" He bellowed, taking another step towards Miriam. The older woman blinked, opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it. Without another word she turned and walked briskly out of the room.

Arnold closed his eyes and took several long, deep breathes. He had never, ever lost control like that. But to see her do that to Helga...

"Helga!" Arnold cried, his eyes snapping open. He turned around to face her. Helga was wheezing a little, her hand pressed to her chest. He eyes were closed, but they opened as Arnold had called her name.

"Are you ok?" He asked, his tone becoming much softer. Helga nodded, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "I am so sorry," Arnold said. Helga shook her head at his apology. She looked like she was struggling not to cry. "Here, let me see." Arnold said gently, reaching out to touch her face. At first, Helga flinched, but she relaxed into his hand as he examined her. His fingers lightly grazed the red mark on her face. It would probably bruise, matching the one on her other cheek Arnold tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his own throat. His thumb caught a stray tear on her cheek and he wiped it away gently. Helga looked at him then, and their eyes met. In his eyes, she could see shock, anger, and sadness. Exactly what she didn't want to see. And in her eyes, he saw pain...so much pain. He also saw fear...and shame. His felt his heart break all over again as he saw her beautiful eyes well up with fresh tears. Her lip quivered.

"Well...now you know." Was all she said before she broke down in Arnold's arms.

 **Well well well... who here is proud of our boy Arnold? I sure am! And so he finally knows. Once he and Helga have had time to process all this, where will this go? Stay tuned to find out! I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8 Questions, Answers & Apologies

**Hello, and welcome to chapter 8! So, this one took a bit longer to do. I kinda wanted to get Arnold's perspective about whats going on, as well as Helga's thoughts on the situation. Also, since a friend mentioned this to me, I decided to add this here. I do not own any of these characters, all rights belong to Craig Bartlett. I feel so stupid for not adding that before. Also, I do not know when the next chapter will be uploaded, but I will do my best to get it up n a timely manner! So, enough from me, Happy Reading!**

Arnold sat there for a long time, holding Helga while she cried into his chest. He was certain that he cried for a bit himself, but he made no effort to stem his own tears. He eventually had climbed into the bed with her, and sat legs crossed, pulling her onto his lap. Helga didn't protest. She just clung to him tighter, silently begging him to not let go. At some point, Phoebe and Gerald had returned, but upon seeing their two friends, they just quietly left the food they brought for Arnold on the bedside table and left again. Arnold silently thanked them as he continued to hold Helga, rocking her gently from side to side. He didn't say anything to her, and she didn't say anything either.

Later, much later, the door opened again. Arnold stiffened slightly, but it was only a nurse. She blinked at the sight of him on the bed, but she smiled kindly. Arnold visibly relaxed. He then noticed that Helga had stopped crying. Looking down at her, he noticed she was asleep. Her face was still wet, and her cheeks were splotchy. Her mouth was slightly open, drooling a bit on his shirt. It didn't matter though. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful thing in this world.

The nurse came closer to the bed, and Arnold noticed that she had a small cart with her. "Ms. Pataki has been cleared for antibiotics and some pain medication." She whispered. "I need to check her blood pressure first though," She added pointedly. Blushing, Arnold understood. He carefully got off the bed while laying Helga back down. She grumbled a bit, then opened her eyes.

"What-what's going on?" She said groggily. The nurse wrapped the blood pressure cuff to Helga's arm, leaving Arnold to answer. "She's got your antibiotics ready, and some painkillers." He said softly. He couldn't help but reach out to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand. To his immense relief, she didn't pull away.

"Ok, blood pressure is good," The nurse said, walking around to the IV stand. "I'm going to put the antibiotics in first. You'll feel a bit of pressure, but no pain." She inserted the needle into the IV line, and pushed the plunger. Helga grimaced. Once it was over, the nurse picked up the next syringe.

"Now, this is the Vicodin. It's going to make you sleepy, but it should knock the pain out for awhile. If you wake up feeling sick, press the call button ok"? Helga nodded. Before she put it in, she addressed Arnold. "You might as well go home young man. Once this enters her system she's gonna be dead to the world." The nurse chuckled at her own joke.

Arnold shook his head about to refuse, but Helga's voice stopped him. "Go. Go home." She said softly. Arnold looked at her face carefully. There was no hostility, no anger in her voice. She just looked tired. "Are...you sure?" He asked carefully.

Helga sat up a bit and looked at him. "Yeah, go home. You need to sleep too, you know. Plus you got school tomorrow. Can't miss the second day." She couldn't help but sound bitter at her last statement. Arnold sighed. He had completely forgotten about school. But would Helga be ok if he left her alone? He didn't like the idea at all.

As though sensing what he was feeling Helga spoke again. "It's fine. I'll be ok for more than a few hours. I'll probably sleep through most of the day anyway." She nodded to the nurse, who proceeded to insert the needle. Before she did however, she addressed the two teens.

"By the way, what was all the commotion outside a couple hours ago? It came from this room." She eyed Arnold in particular. Arnold glanced at Helga, who looked panic-stricken. _"Should I tell her?"_ He thought. If he did, the nurse would tell the Dr. Crannell, who would in turn talk to Dr. Eve. Once they knew the truth, they would surely call the police. That was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Helga's parents would probably go to jail... but what about her? What would they do with Helga? That last thought left him uneasy. He was the type of guy who needed all the facts before making a decision. He needed to be absolutely sure that Helga would be safe from _any_ harm. Making up his mind, he turned away from Helga and faced the nurse.

"It was... Helga's parents. They...got into some sort of argument, and...left." He finished lamely. It wasn't a _total_ lie. And anyone who knew Bob and Miriam wouldn't doubt the story for a moment. He glanced at Helga again. Her eyes were wide in surprise. The nurse looked from one to the other, not sure if to believe him or not.

"Is that true, Ms. Pataki?" She said. Helga's head snapped over to the nurse. Without missing a beat, she casually replied; "Yeah, my parents were making a huge stink in here and I asked Arnold to throw them out. Happens all the time." The nurse looked a little taken aback at her response.

"Well... if they come back... make sure to tell them that that kind of behavior is _not_ tolerated here. This is a hospital, not wrestling ring." Helga gave a short laugh. "Yeah, you got it toots." Helga relaxed finally, letting her head hit the pillows. "And you," She said, turning her head to look at Arnold. Go home and get some sleep. Its gotta be past midnight already."

"Ok...if your sure..." Arnold said, reluctant to leave. If truth be told, he would rather blow off school and stay by her side. But knowing Helga, she wouldn't allow that. "Yes, I'm sure. Someone has got to tell the rest of the gang I'm still alive." Helga said. "I'm sure Phoebe and Gerald will," Arnold said, smiling at her.

"Still... its the second day. Besides, _someone_ has to go and get me all my homework. Phoebe is busy as it is. And I don't trust Tall Hair Boy. So, that leaves you, Arnoldo." She smirked then, knowing she had him trapped. Arnold sighed slightly, defeated.

"Whatever you say Helga," He said finally, standing up to leave. "Ill come by tomorrow, ok?" He said. "I'll be holding my breath." Was her reply. She nodded to the nurse, who then proceeded to insert the needle containing the pain medication. Almost immediately, Helga's eyelids began to droop. Grabbing the fast food bag and shake from the bedside table, Arnold looked back at her. She was already asleep, her face looking peaceful.

"Out like a light." The nurse said again, wheeling the cart to the door. Arnold opened it for her. She said her thanks, and left. After one last, long look at the sleeping girl, Arnold left as well.

Arnold munched his now cold cheeseburger on the way to the Packard. The shake in his other hand was no longer cold, but Arnold was so hungry he hardly noticed. On the drive home, his head was filled with thoughts of the past day.

So _this_ is what she had been so desperate to hide... _This_ was why she withdrew from people, and why...she pushed him away. Arnold understood now, or a little bit at least. But although he got some answers, questions still lingered in his mind.

 _"Why wouldn't she ask me for help?"_ He thought, reaching his street. _"Why didn't she come to me, or Phoebe? We would have helped her in a heartbeat...so why?"_ He parked the Packard in front of the boarding house. There was no other sign of life in the streets, and every window was dark in the house. After locking the car, Arnold decided to go up the fire escape to his room, to avoid waking anyone up.

Once inside, Arnold changed into his pajamas and fell into bed. He was exhausted, but his brain was refusing to quiet down. He looked at his alarm clock. It was just past one in the morning. For the second day in a row, Arnold was not going to get much sleep. He turned onto his side, facing the photograph of him and Helga on the shelf. He wondered how long this had been going on... how long Helga had been...abused. Even thinking the word made his stomach churn and his heart burn with rage.

How could Miriam do this to her own flesh and blood? This was what Arnold really had trouble understanding. How could a parent do that to their child? Parents were supposed to love you, protect you... be there for you no matter what... Arnold sighed and covered his eyes with his arm. How was he supposed to know? He had never known his parents. They had left him when he was a baby to go save the Green-Eyed people. He suddenly felt angry again. They had abandoned him. There was no other way to say it. They had abandoned him to go on some reckless adventure, never thinking about what might happen if they never came back. He felt hot tears prick his eyes and he wiped them away, frustrated with himself. He knew he shouldn't be angry. But he was. Even if it were for different reasons, his parents had abandoned him just as Helga's had abandoned her. Feeling his eyelids start to betray him, Arnold had one, final thought go through his mind: _"I_ will _get Helga out of this. I will save her. No matter what..."_ With that promise, Arnold fell into an uneasy sleep.

Helga wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up. All she knew was that she was thirsty. And hungry. She reached over and paged the nurse. The pain in her chest had subsided into a small ache. It was still hard to breathe normally though. She reached and touched the new fresh bruise on her face. It was ironic really, how Miriam's actions had actually revealed her true colors. Helga let herself remember the events of last night:

 _"What have you told them? Miriam hissed, twisting her fingers through her hair, scratching her scalp. "Nothing! Nothing, I swear!" Helga rasped, her eyes clamped shut. Miriam reached back and slapped Helga across the face. Twice, three times. As Helga tried to move away from Miriam, her mother pushed her other hand hard into Helga's chest. The force Miriam put into it knocked over a small stool. Helga remembered gasping in pain, tears starting to spring into her eyes._

 _"Then explain why we have had people from Social Services calling our house," Miriam said, her hand pushing deeper into Helga's chest. "I-I don't know! Please..." Helga begged._

 _At that moment, the door to her room opened with a bang. Arnold stood there, his green eyes wide at the scene before him. Then his expression darkened, and he was at her side in moments. Helga remembered him tearing Miriam off of her. The sudden influx of air in her lungs made her sputter in pain. She heard Arnold yelling, while Miriam said something back, no doubt trying to deny what he saw. She chanced a peek at them through the tears._

 _She saw Arnold's back against her, his strong arms outstretched to protect her. She could feel the anger and tension radiating off him in waves. His broad shoulders were tense under his shirt, and although she couldn't hear what he was saying, loathing for the woman in front of him was laced with every word. He was angrier than she had ever, ever seen him. And...it was all...for her._

 _She remembered hearing the door slam shut again, and Arnold was in front of her face, looking at her with immense concern. "Are you ok?" He asked. His tone was much softer than before, showing his true nature. She nodded, unable to look at him._

 _"Here, let me see." She heard him say, and although she felt herself flinch, it had felt so good when his warm hand caressed her cheek. Feeling that warmth, that feeling that had crept into her heart again, was almost more than she could bear. She felt a single tear slide down her cheek, and Arnold's thumb wiped it away. In spite of herself, she looked up at him. The anger was still there, it was etched in the line of his jaw. Looking into the deep green pools of his eyes, she could see the shock of what he had just witnessed. There was also sadness, and the compassion he always displayed to people in need._

 _This was what she didn't want to see. She didn't want his pity. She didn't want him to see her at her weakest. All of sudden she was overcome by shame. The boy she had loved..._ still _loved, had seen her absolute darkest secret. Now he knew just how rotten her life was. And if he had left her before, he was sure to run for the hills now._ "But he only left you because you pushed him away," _a small voice inside her said. Still, it didn't matter. Arnold had given up on her, and she wasn't sure she could handle it again. "Well...now you know," was all she could manage to say. Unable to take anymore, the dam burst, and she collapsed in tears._

Helga groaned in embarrassment. She remembered crying for a long, long time. At some point, she had felt Arnold wrap his arms around her, felt him pulling her onto his lap. She could hear his heart beating a steady rhythm in his chest. Her head wanted to push him away, to save herself from more pain that was sure to come. But her heart refused to let her, knowing that she would shatter if he did. So she cried. She cried for all the pain she'd had to endure, for the fear that was always bubbling up inside her, and she cried in shame. She never wanted Arnold to see this. But at the same time, she had felt an immense, cathartic relief at being found out. Helga punched her pillow into a more comfortable shape as the nurse came in.

"As, Ms. Pataki, your awake." She was wheeling in a covered lunch tray. After setting it in front of Helga, she checked Helga's blood pressure and turned to leave.

"What time is it?" Helga asked. "Just after two-thirty. You slept for a long time. Dr. Crannel will be here later this afternoon to discuss your breathing exercises. Enjoy your lunch, page me if you need more pain medication." The nurse left her alone, as Helga uncovered her lunch tray. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. It was some sort of brown, sludge like soup. There was also some crackers, a container of jello, and a glass of water. She gulped down the water hurriedly, savoring that it was nice and cold. She took a tiny sip of soup, but promptly spit it out. "Are they trying to poison me?" She muttered. What she wouldn't give for a double cheeseburger right now...Sighing, she grabbed the jello. At least that didn't look terrible. She almost had the spoon to her mouth when the smell reached her nostrils. Strawberry. Groaning loudly, she dropped the spoon and jello and pushed her tray away in disgust. Turning onto her side, she glared at the wall.

Ordinarily, she would have paged the nurse and demanded another tray of food. Right now however, she just didn't have the energy. She spied her phone on the bedside table. Someone had been kind enough to plug it in for her, so it had a full battery. Unplugging it, she turned it on to check for any messages.

There were ten missed calls, all from Bob. There were just as many voice mails, but Helga just deleted them. She didn't want to hear a tirade. She also noticed she had several texts, mostly from the gang wishing her a speedy recovery. She saw a couple of texts from Phoebe...and Arnold. Trying to control the rapid beating of her heart, she opened Phoebe's first.

 **Phoebe: Hi Helga. I hope you slept well. I just wanted to wish you a good morning before heading off to school. It will be lonely with out you. :-(**

Helga paused. She and Phoebe had walked to school together since they had been children. Phoebe never missed a day of school. And although Helga ditched classes at times, she always walked Phoebe. It was their ritual. To know that Phoebe had to walk to school without her, alone...it made Helga feel immensely guilty. She read on:

 **Phoebe: Hi Helga. Everyone is wondering where you are. We didn't tell them much, just that you were ok and will recover soon.**

Helga smiled a little bit. She was thankful that they didn't go into details. _"_ _I should remember to thank them."_ She thought. She went on and read the last message.

 **Phoebe: Hi again Helga. I was wondering, did something happen last night? Arnold looks really down, but he wont tell me anything. He looks really tired, but I assume he's going to visit you after school. I'll be over once my fencing lesson is over. I'll see you later Helga, get some rest.**

Helga frowned at the last message. She didn't like the idea of Arnold getting upset over her...situation. It was one of the reasons she didn't want him to know in the first place. Maybe Arnold's messages would give more insight, She thought to herself. Tapping over to his messages, she began to read.

 **Arnold: Hi Helga! I just wanted to make sure you're ok. I'd be glad to hear from you if you get a chance.**

 **Arnold: Lunchtime is definitely not the same without you Helga. Everyone is wondering where you are. Phoebe and I haven't said anything in detail. And I haven't told Phoebe either. About last night, I mean.**

Helga sighed, relieved. She had been wondering if Arnold had given her away to Phoebe, but of course he wouldn't. He wasn't that kind of person. She continued to read.

 **Arnold: I don't like my Biology teacher. He's incredibly stiff and boring... wish you were in this class Helga. You'd make it more fun. I miss you.**

Reading that made her heart clench. There it was, his blunt honesty. Knowing that he truly meant it, that he missed her, made her want to cry. It didn't change anything though. Things were how they were for a reason. With that sad fact in her head, she continued on to his last message.

 **Arnold: Thank God this day is almost over. I'm coming by as soon as the bell rings. I got all your homework like you asked. Let me know if I can bring you anything. I still miss you. 3**

Helga frowned. What was with the heart emoji? As much as her heart melted to see that, it also confused her. They weren't back together. She wasn't sure if they even could. Him knowing about Miriam beating her wasn't going to solve anything. It wasn't going to repair the damage. So what was he trying to do?

As she thought, she heard the door to her room swing open. When she looked up, she saw Arnold in the doorway. She couldn't help but gawk at him a little. He was wearing his usual black jeans, paired with a dark blue t-shirt that clung to his body, showing off his toned muscles. His resident blue hat was covering his unruly blonde locks. He had a green jacket over one arm, his backpack over his shoulder. In his hands he held a plastic bag. He was smiling warmly at her, as though nothing and nobody else mattered. He looked amazing.

"Hey," Arnold said, coming over to the bed and sitting down beside her. Glancing at her phone in her hand, his smile got a little wider. "See you got my messages." He said with a slight chuckle. Helga crossed her arms, agitated. "I only just now got to reading them." She said. Arnold put his arms up in defense. "Sorry, I was only teasing." He said. Up close, Helga noticed he looked tired, like Phoebe had said. It made her heart twinge to think that he was losing sleep over her. But he was still smiling, as always.

"I see you've eaten," He said, spying the tray of food Helga had abandoned. "Hardly," She replied bitterly. "They gave me some sort of mud for soup, and then tried to poison me with strawberry jello." Arnold got up and walked over to where the food tray sat. Wrinkling his nose at the soup, he then picked up the container of jello and sighed.

"Jeez, you'd think they'd know to check before giving you this." He said, putting it back on the tray. He then picked it up and moved it to the chair on that side of the bed. Walking back around, he bent and picked up his plastic bag. "Good thing I had a sixth sense and got us this." Straightening up, he held two wrapped sandwiches in his hands. Handing one to Helga, he put his own on the bedside table and bent to retrieve something else.

Helga unwrapped her sandwich curiously. A tantalizing smell wafted up her nose, making her mouth water. "Is this-" She asked, unable to keep the awe from her voice.

"Pastrami on rye, Swiss cheese, light mayo, no pickles." Arnold said, smiling smugly at her expression. "Your favorite. Plus, curly fries and a large Yahoo soda." He put the items on the table as he named him. Plucking a fry from the container, he popped one in his mouth and chewed, still smiling at Helga.

"Th-thanks, Arnold." She said, still in a daze that he had remembered her favorite sandwich. Smiling slightly, she took a bite of her sandwich. She immediately sighed in content. Man that was some good stuff! She saw Arnold chuckle a little as he bit into his own. They sat in comfortable silence, eating their way through their sandwiches and fries. Once they were done, Arnold cleared away the trash and sat close to Helga again. Regardless of their current situation, she was glad her was here.

"Thanks again for the food Arnold." She said, breaking the silence. "Your welcome," Arnold replied, giving her another of his wonderful smiles. "I had a feeling that you either hadn't eaten yet or would be hungry, so I thought I'd bring you something. Oh," He reached down again and got his backpack. "I brought your homework too, from all your classes. The teachers said that you can take your time with it. They won't count it late or anything." He pulled out a blue folder, containing an array of papers, neatly piled inside. He put them on the bedside table for later.

"Thanks again for that, really." Helga said, looking at the blue folder. She kept her eyes on it as she carefully phrased her next words. "And...thank you. For not telling Phoebe about...last night." She looked down at her hands then, unable to meet his eyes. Then a larger, warmer hand covered hers, forcing her to look up.

Arnold was looking at her with a mixture of understanding and sadness on his face. "Of course. I didn't say anything because I'm hoping you will. She needs to know." He added in a much smaller voice. Helga nodded. She knew she had to come clean now, but she wanted to wait for the right time.

"I will. Just...not right now." She said. "Helga," Arnold began, but Helga shook her head to stop him. "I will. I promise. I just...want to recover a bit first. I...need to find the right way to tell her." Arnold looked satisfied with that, and Helga let out a breath. For a while, they said nothing. Then Arnold spoke up.

"Helga, can I ask you something?" Helga looked at him, hesitant. She slowly nodded her head, sure of what he was going to ask. Arnold took a deep breath, and started. "How long has this been gong on?" He asked first. Right on the money.

"Since our freshman year." She replied tonelessly. She knew that he was going to ask, that he wanted answers. As much as she didn't want to tell him she couldn't stop her lips from spilling all she had to tell.

"Why would she do this to you? Arnold continued. Helga shook her head. "I don't know," she said. Miriam had never said outright why she was doing this. At first it might have just been the booze, but Helga didn't think so now. She was always drunk, but she seemed so coherent whenever she struck her. She told Arnold as much when he didn't look satisfied with that answer.

"Ok, why did you start avoiding everyone?' he asked next. Helga realized then that he was still holding her hand. He must have noticed that she saw, because he squeezed it reassuringly. "I-I'm not really sure why I did.." She started. "I...I wasn't sure how to cope with what I was going through. I guess I just needed time to rebuild my walls... to protect myself. So I could face the world again." She finished, not sure if Arnold would be happy with that answer. She chanced a peek at his face. He looked like he understood, but his face betrayed what he was feeling; there was sorrow and hurt and regret etched into every feature of his face. Helga hated herself for it, but before she could say something, Arnold asked his last question.

"Was...was this...why you pushed me away?" He asked quietly. Helga couldn't bear to hear the pain in his voice. Unable to speak, she nodded. "Why?" He asked, in that same pained tone. She shook her head, incapable to answer him. "Helga, please." He said softly, letting go of her hand and placing both of his against her face, stilling her. "I need to know. Please Helga, look at me." He pleaded her. She opened her eyes and stared into his. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out at first. She closed it, swallowed, and tried again.

"I...I was afraid," She choked out, wanting so bad to break their gaze but found herself completely helpless to do so. "I...was afraid if you found out, you would do something stupid. I...was afraid...you would get hurt. I...didn't want you to get hurt...because of _me_!" There it was, Helga was crying all over again, and Arnold sat there and looked at her, speechless.

"I...thought that if I pushed you away... at least you would be safe. I never wanted...to drag you into this. T-this is _my_ burden to bear. This is... _my_ personal hell. I thought that if I could endure it long enough, I would be rid of it, and I could come back to you. But now," Helga gasped for air, and she reached up and took Arnold's hands off her face, and lowered them.

"But now...its too late. You found me out, and all this happened...all because I was too stupid and hung up on my pride!" She put her hands over her face and cried in anguish. A long moment passed. Helga was sure that Arnold had gotten tired and had left her by now. He must have. But she never heard the door open, never heard his footsteps. Instead, she felt his arms wrap around her again, holding her to him as best he could.

"Helga, I...I cant even describe how sorry I am." His voice was shaking, but his arms held her fast and strong. "I...I had _no_ idea. I understand how you feel...but I still wish you had just _told_ me." Helga shook her head at his words, denying what he said.

"I know you think that, but it isn't true." He said firmly, pulling away to make her look at him. "None of this is your fault Helga. None of it. There's no reason in this world that says you have to put up with this." He stopped speaking suddenly, as though a thought suddenly occurred to him. "

"Helga..." He said, carefully measuring his words. "Why exactly... _do_ you put up with this? It isn't like you. You wouldn't take something even a tenth of this magnitude lying down. Why are you not stopping it?" Helga looked down again, shame filling her to her core. She knew if she told him, he would be angry. Maybe this would be his breaking point. Maybe this is where he draws the line. But she knew she had to tell him. She had told him everything else. Might as well add the cherry on freaking top.

Steeling herself, she spoke. "Because...because when Miriam does this to me...she is able to be a better person around Bob. They're happier together...and it seems like their relationship is getting better." She sighed, and looked back up at Arnold. He had frozen, his eyes staring at her, but looking like he didn't see her at all. Slowly, his hands reached out and grasped her shoulders, not hard, but firmly.

"Are you telling me," He said slowly, as though to understand what he was saying himself, "That you let your mother beat on you...do this-" He gestured at Helga's chest before continuing "-Because it is helping her _marriage_?!" His voice rose a few octaves in shock. He looked at Helga then, and when she gave a tiny nod, his mouth fell open.

"Your serious..." He whispered, his hands falling from her shoulders. He reached up to his own face and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, his eyes squeezed shut. "Helga... you do realize that what your saying is completely insane right?" His voice rose again, making Helga lean back wearily.

"Those people...your parents... they need serious, _serious_ help. And your solution is to be their personal punching bag?" "It beats them yelling at each other every night... and them harping on me for every move I make..." Helga said bitterly. "And this is better?" Arnold snapped. Helga shook her head. After a moment, she spoke again, her voice low.

"I...know this is stupid. I know that this doesn't really fix their problems... you don't understand, you've always had a loving family... people who care about you." She glanced at him, noticing that he had frozen again, waiting for her to continue. "I... I have never had that. All my life, I've seen them argue...throw things... say the most terrible things to one another. And to me. When I first noticed that things were starting to get better for them, I thought that maybe...just maybe... I could make it up to them. For having to be stuck with a kid like me all these years... I thought... this was _my_ punishment, for all the things I've done wrong in this life. I thought I could handle it...it was just a few years... then I could leave, and let them do whatever they needed to do. I figured...I owed them that." She took a breath then, careful about how it hurt her chest. It felt good, so good, to let that all out. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them to look at Arnold. She smiled at him, and he gave her a strange look, before throwing his arms around her. Again.

"Arnold, what are you-" "You don't owe them a thing Helga," He said firmly, hugging her to him. "Not one _damn_ thing. You don't deserve this. They don't deserve _you_. You deserve to be loved, to be cared for..." Helga felt a dampness on her cheek. Arnold was crying. Crying for her. He looked at her then, his eyes shining like jewels. "I promise you Helga... I'm going to do whatever it takes...no matter _what_ it is...to make you feel loved like you deserve to be." He put his hand on her head and pulled her closer to his chest. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek, her ears ringing with his words. She couldn't believe it. But she so wanted to. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy. She knew that this...his little confession... didn't change how things were. She knew she had a long road to go...but maybe, just maybe... this was the start down that road.

 **Hi, me again! So in case anyone is wondering...No, Arnold and Helga are NOT back together...yet. Arnold is trying to let Helga know that she is worthy of love, and that he still loves her. But she is a bit reluctant to let him back in. She's very vulnerable at this point in time. But fear not! I have something very, very special planned further down the road for these two. I also hope that this will be the last of the...intense chapters for awhile. We'll see how this goes. Anyway, please review and leave comments, I love reading them! Till next time!**


	9. Chapter 9 Party Plans

**Hello, me again! Welcome to chapter nine! I know that the last few chapters were pretty intense, so this one is a bit of a breather. Not for me, as this was a hard one to write. Curse you writer's block! Next chapter is going o be a good one, so bear through it I beg you! Again, I thank everyone who has read this thus far, and your reviews really brighten my day. Please continue to read, review and rate my story, and I'll see you later! Note: I do not own these characters, all rights belong to Craig Bartlett. Happy Reading!**

Later that night, Helga sat in her bed, watching TV. Arnold had just left, promising tomorrow he'd bring her more food and no doubt more homework. Phoebe had left with him also. She had shown up about an hour ago, having walked in on Helga crying again in Arnold's arms. This time, Helga bade her friend to stay. With much hesitation, and a lot of encouragement from Arnold, Helga told her best friend the truth. It went down pretty much as Helga had anticipated. Phoebe had broken down in tears when Arnold recounted how he found out, and chastised Helga for her reasoning to let it continue. Helga smiled as she recalled how Phoebe had yelled at her. It would have been funny had the situation been different.

After, the three friends decided to move on to happier topics for the rest of the evening. Helga had found a sense of peace while talking to them. It made a nice change, to hear about the rest of the gang and their petty squabbles. Baseball practice had been a nightmare without Arnold and Helga, and Mr. Simmons was on the verge of yet another psychotic breakdown. All in all, it had been a good evening, and she felt strangely lonely when they had left for the night.

Helga's phone started ringing then, pulled her out of her thoughts. Reaching for it, she glanced at the caller ID. It was Bob. She was sorely tempted to let it go to voicemail, but she figured that he'd keep calling her if she didn't pick up. Groaning, she hit accept.

"Bout time you picked up the damn phone Olga." Was Bob's greeting. Helga didn't even bother correcting him on her name. "What do you want, Bob?" She said, trying to keep her voice even.

"I wanna know when they're letting you out of that freaking hospital, that's what!" Bob barked. "I've got a shipment of new equipment coming in for the Emporium and I need you to unload it. I got a conference in Chicago that day and I won't have my Emporium looking like yesterdays ditch-water. So, when are you getting home?"

"Gee, I'm feeling _loads_ better, thanks for asking." Helga sneered in the phone, her temper rising. "This just in Bob: They wont just 'let me out'. You need to come here so they can discharge me. And since I just had surgery, there is no way in hell I'm unloading _anything_."

"You better watch your tone girl," Bob warned in a low voice. "I don't like that attitude. Or your little friends, for that matter. He needs to do some serious groveling after the stunt he pulled."

Helga growled low in her throat. This wasn't going anywhere. Wanting to avoid an all-out war, she took as deep a breath as her lungs would allow, and spoke.

"Whatever you say, _Bob_. If your not too busy to check me out, I should be ready to go by tomorrow. Otherwise, don't bother." She hung up the phone before he could reply and put it back on the table. That had really soured her mood. Turning off the TV, Helga turned on her side and closed her eyes. Hearing her phone buzz again, Helga snatched it angrily, ready to tear into anyone. Seeing on the screen that it was a text from Arnold, she felt her anger evaporate. Tapping on the message, she began to read:

 **Arnold: Hey, sorry if I woke you. I just wanted to say thank you. For telling me the truth. And Phoebe too. I could tell it meant a lot to her.**

 **Me: Yeah, I guess it did. I have never seen her that mad. Would have been funny if it was someone else.**

 **Arnold: Yeah... couldn't blame her though. You...did kinda deserve it.**

 **Me: Thanks, football head. Way to make me feel better.**

 **Arnold: Sorry...**

 **Me: Nah, its ok. And thank you...for being there for me. Especially with Bob and Miriam. It means a lot.**

 **Arnold: Of course. And I meant what I said you know...all of it.**

 **Me: I know.**

Helga didn't know what else to say. She wanted so badly to go back to how things had been between them, but she was scared to open herself to him again. As much as she knew that him leaving her was more or less her doing, it still didn't change the fact that he had left her. He made the decision to not stand by her, no matter what happened. It made all those whispered promises and sweet words disappear. She was going to need time, and some sort of sign, to know if she was ready to try again.

Absorbed in her thoughts, she almost didn't hear the ping of a new message.

 **Arnold: Well, I'll let you get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow ok? Let me know if you want something in particular to eat. ;-)**

 **Me: Will do, football head. Thanks.**

Helga was about to put her phone back on the table when she heard another ping, followed by a second. Suppressing a giggle, she brought her phone back to eye level to read it. The next second, she felt her heart skip a beat.

 **Arnold: I wish you were here with me. That way, I'd know your safe.**

 **Arnold: Just thought I'd put that out there lol. Sleep well Helga. Goodnight.**

Helga didn't know what to say. Leave it to that crazy, sappy, wonderfully romantic football head to say something like that before closing a conversation. She knew she didn't need to respond. He always had a way of saying things that didn't need an answer, they just needed to be said, or heard. But this time, Helga was compelled to write a short reply...

 **Me: You too. Goodnight.**

Cradling her phone in her hand, Helga settled down onto her pillows. Repeating Arnold's words over and over in her head, she fell into a painless sleep, Bob's earlier call forgotten.

Meanwhile at the boarding house, Arnold had just finished the last text to Helga before laying down on his bed. He hoped he hadn't scared her with that last comment, but he had to tell her how he felt in that moment. He wanted so desperately to be with her again... but he knew it wasn't that simple. When he left her, he had been so sure it was because she didn't care about him, didn't love him anymore. But now that he knew the truth...he couldn't just give up anymore. He knew that he was going to have to be careful, so as to not make her close herself off again. Plus there was her parents to worry about. She was going to be discharged tomorrow, and he certainly didn't want her going back to that house. No matter what, he was going to fight for her. Fight _with_ her. Anything to have her back.

Hearing his cell phone ping, he looked and saw he had a new e-mail. Curious, he opened it. It was an invite to Rhonda's welcome back party. The first party of the school season. Arnold smiled and clicked the RSVP button. On the next page, he saw the names of over fifty people, some he knew, some he didn't. Almost the entire gang was registered, minus himself and Helga. He wondered if Helga would go this year. With the exemption of Rhonda's New Year Party, Helga usually turned down all invites. The only one she had gone to was with him. Arnold smiled at the memory. That had been a wonderful night...Maybe...he could get her to go again.

The smile slid off his face as he considered it. Helga didn't like to dress up, as it made her uncomfortable. And he wasn't sure if she would go as his date...his friend...or at all. Thinking hard, Arnold got up and paced around his room. What could he do to get her to go? The party could be a perfect way to make amends...to start over...to get back together. He just needed a plan, and a way to get Helga there.

The more he thought, the more he realized that what he needed to do, was something to catch her attention. Something that would prove to her that he was serious about how he felt...he knew Helga wasn't overly fond of grand gestures per se, but it seemed like the perfect thing to do in this case. Inspiration striking, Arnold grabbed his phone and sent two quick texts, a plan beginning to form in his mind...

The next day, Helga sat restlessly on her hospital bed. She was good to go, ready to be rid of this place. But she was also nervous to go home. She hadn't spoken to Bob since last night, and she certainly wasn't going to call him. She had considered asking Phoebe if she could stay with her, but she remembered that Phoebe told her las night that she was going out of town to see family for a few days. With her only lifeline gone, she felt adrift, wondering what to do. She looked at her phone. It was almost three, and she was hoping that Arnold would be here soon, if nothing else than to be a buffer from her parents.

Just as she finished that thought, her room door swung open. Arnold was there, looking at her with his usual smile, but he also looked...confused. The source of his confusion was answered as Olga burst into the room.

"Baby Sister!" Olga squealed, rushing over to hug Helga. Helga stiffened, her arms locked to her sides. "Olga, what are you doing here?" Helga said, squirming out her sister's arms. "Silly Helga, I came home to visit!" Olga said happily, reaching out to stroke Helga's hair. She was always so _handsy_...knocking her hand away, Helga crossed her arms.

"Oh, don't look cross with me Helga. Daddy and Mommy told me all about your little _accident_ , and really Helga, you should be more careful...falling down the stairs in the middle of the night. What _were_ you thinking? So, anyway, once I heard Daddy and I decided that you'll stay with me at my apartment while I'm back in town." "Stay with you?" Helga said, raising her eyebrows. "Bob and Miriam agreed to that?"

"Oh yes, Daddy practically _insisted_ ," Olga said, reaching out and touching the tip of Helga's nose. "I just know we'll have just the most wonderful time Baby Sister. Now, I need to go sign the papers for your discharge. Ill be right back." She gave a glowing look to Helga and flounced away, ignoring Arnold, who was still standing by the door, looking after her in confusion.

Clearing his throat, he stepped closer to Helga. "So, that was...Olga." He looked through the doorway, unsure of what to say. "She seems..." "Completely insufferable, perky, and annoying?" Helga said, placing her hands on her hips. Arnold chuckled, and he relaxed a bit, sitting on the bed next to her.

"I would have said... enthusiastic." Glancing at her, his face fell a little. "Is...she always...like that?" "Pretty much," Helga replied, sitting back down on the bed. "Now you know why I never had you over when she was here." Arnold nodded. He had never formally met Olga, but now that he had...she didn't seem like a bad person... she just seemed... _fake_. That was the word. "So, you'll be ok staying with her? I thought you would want to stay at Phoebe's."

"Phoebe will be out of town until next week. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do..." Helga looked down at her feet. "But since Olga is here, it might be a good idea to stay away from my house for awhile." "So, Olga has an apartment here in Hillwood?" Arnold asked, confused.

"Yeah, a real nice one I hear. Bob set it up for her." Helga grimaced at yet another example of Bob's doting on his eldest daughter. Arnold still looked confused. "But...she doesn't live here in Hillwood, right?" "Nope, she travels all over. She just likes to have the place so when she when she wants to visit, but doesn't want to stay with my parents, its there. Must be nice." Helga said bitterly. Wanting to change the subject, she asked "Hey, I thought you were going to bring me lunch?" She only now noticed that Arnold's hands were empty.

Arnold blushed and chuckled. "Well, I was going to take you somewhere once you were discharged, then take you home. I guess that's kinda out the window now." He looked suddenly annoyed, as though Olga had ruined his entire day. Helga laughed herself. That was Olga for you. Wanting to change the forlorn expression on Arnold's face, she said "Hey, there's always next time right?" Arnold looked at her, his lips turning up a little bit. "Yeah, I guess so." He went back to staring at his shoes. Helga sighed, wondering what else to say. Then, the email she received last night hit her."So, you get Rhonda's party invite?"

Arnold brightened instantly. "Yeah, I already RSVP. You?" Helga laughed. "Nah, I don't think so." Noticing Arnold's crestfallen expression, she laughed again. "What, you actually think I'd go? Like _I_ have anything to wear to keep Ms. Lloyd happy." At this, Arnold smirked knowingly.

"Yeah? Check the invite. Rhonda edited it this morning." Suspicious, Helga opened her email, and tapped on Rhonda's invite. Scrolling past the RSVP button, there was a small edition she hadn't noticed earlier:

 **Note: The dress code has been altered from 'black tie' to 'business casual'. Please adhere to the dress code provided, or you will be asked to leave.** Below that was a list of "acceptable" attire. Helga raised an eyebrow.

"Who in the hell held a gun to Rhonda's head to make her do this?" Arnold shrugged, laughing slightly. "Who knows? It surprised me too. So, what do you think?"

Helga looked at him again, even more suspiciously. "Why do you want me to go so badly?" She demanded. Arnold blushed slightly, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Well, I think it would be good for you...to get out...have some fun. The gang all miss you, and..." He trailed off, looking down at his shoes again. Helga thought for a moment. It might be nice to go out, forget about the hell that was her life for a few hours...the party was next week, and she was sure to die of boredom in Olga's apartment until then. She still wasn't sure about one thing...

"Arnold, I don't have a date. I'm pretty sure Rhonda is pretty adamant about matches at her parties." "So, go with me then." Was Arnold's reply. Helga gaped at him. He was looking at her intensely, his eyes boring into her own. He had to be joking. In spite of his serious look, Helga laughed.

"Wow, way to ask a girl out. Football head, smooth you are _not_!" Arnold frowned, then leaned forward and grabbed her hand.

"Fine. Helga, will you go with me to Rhonda's party?" He asked formally. Helga yanked her hand out of his.

"No." She said immediately, smirking. Upon seeing Arnold's wounded look, she sighed. "I'll think about it." She relented. "Really?" Arnold said, his face giving him away. He was...acting _way_ too happy about this.

"Yes, yes, I'll think about it!" She said, shoving Arnold playfully. He shoved her back, though much more gently. Clearing his throat, Arnold looked at her seriously. "By the way...until the party, I'm going to be really busy...I'm helping my grandpa make some repairs to the boarding house...so, I won't be around much." He said sheepishly.

"Helga gave him a funny look. Why was he telling her this? Its not like she'd notice, or miss him...ok, that was a downright lie. Composing herself, Helga replied "Oh? What sort of repairs?" "Nothing too major, just fixing the stairs, replace some pipes, painting. Its just that my grandpa can't do much, and it'll go a lot faster if I help." Arnold explained. He peered closer to her face, looking concerned. "Will...you be ok?" That was what he'd been really worried about, Helga was sure. She nodded, smiling slightly as she did.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. I'll be with Olga, so physically I'll be alright. Mentally... I dunno." When Arnold looked worried, she quickly added, "Its only since its Olga, she'll probably want to do makeovers, mani-pedis, go shopping... all that girly crap. Don't be surprised if I come to the party wearing a straitjacket."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Oh, the _humanity_..." He said dramatically. "Wait, you said 'come to the party'. Does this mean your going?" He smiled widely at her, and Helga's heart did a back flip. Knowing that he wasn't going to give up, she relented."Ugh, fine! I'll go to the stupid party! Criminy, and will you stop grinning at me like a fool?" Arnold tried to do so, but he was failing so miserably that it made Helga laugh too.

Hearing the door open, Olga pranced back inside. "Ok Baby Sister, lets get going! I don't want to get into too much traffic on the way to the apartment." It was then that she spied Arnold, who was still sitting next to Helga.

"Oh! You must be one of Helga's little friends! Helga, who is this cute little blonde boy?" Helga looked at Arnold, who looked slightly offended at being addressed like that. Stifling a laugh, Helga turned to her sister.

"This is Arnold. He's a friend...a good friend of mine. He's in my class, and we've known each other since...well, forever really." Helga was rambling, and she felt her face get warm. Glancing at Arnold, she noticed that he was blushing too.

"Oh goody! I just _love_ meeting my Baby Sister's friends!" Olga gushed, coming over to Arnold and wrapping him in a tight hug. Arnold looked extremely uncomfortable at her advance, and he looked to Helga for help. Helga laughed at his expression, and showing her crueler side, didn't do a thing to help him. When Olga finally released him, she picked up Helga's bag and started for the door. Quickly, Arnold sidled over to Helga, his eyes narrowed.

"You are _so_ going to pay for that..." He whispered in her ear. Helga narrowed her own eyes and smiled dangerously. Oh, she loved a challenge. " _Bring it_ , football head." She whispered back. Arnold smiled back at her. Then without warning, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"Call me if you need anything. No matter what time it is. I'll be there in a heartbeat." He said into her hair, squeezing him to her. Helga's heart constricted. How could he be so...beautifully romantic that it almost broke her heart? In spite of herself, she hugged him back just as tightly, but knowing she had to let go, she whispered a quick "Sure thing," to him and released him. Arnold did the same, looking just as sorry as she felt to go. Waving at him, she turned and followed her sister out of the room, leaving Arnold behind.

Once they had gotten into Olga's BMW, Helga heard her phone go off. Seeing that Arnold had texted her, she smiled and opened it while Olga chattered away.

 **Arnold: Hi Helga. I just realized, I forgot to tell you something before you left.**

Helga rolled her eyes. Really, he could be so dense sometimes. But it was one of the many, many things she still loved about him. Still smiling, she tapped her reply:

 **Me: Oh? And what, pray tell, did you forget to tell me?**

Arnold's response was almost instant, as though he had already had this message prepared. Knowing him, Helga thought, he did.

 **Arnold: Be safe, Helga. I'll miss you, and I'll be thinking about you. I cant wait to see you next Friday night.**

Helga was amazed at how just a few simple words could have her insides all tied up in knots. But she loved it. It was strange though. They weren't officially back together yet, but it felt like it. It just wasn't...spoken. It had felt like so long ago that she had been pretending he didn't exist...yet here they were. Helga frowned as the feelings of doubt began to worm their way back in. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she hardly noticed that they had made it to Olga's place.

"Were here, Baby Sister!" Olga exclaimed, going around to get Helga's door. Helga grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car. The apartment building that Olga lived in was one of the nicest in Hillwood, all steel and glass. It stood about twenty stories, and Olga's was of course, on the top floor. Following her sister, Olga gave her keys to the valet and stepped into the lobby. It was very professional-looking, almost like a hotel. They're were plump black leather couches, thick granite-colored rugs, and soft lighting. The walls were a deep burgundy, and many expensive looking paintings adorned the walls. After a short ride in the elevator, they reached the top floor. Helga noticed that besides Olga's there was only one other apartment. Helga stared at the other door curiously, wondering who would live there. Olga noticed her looking and said "That's Dr. Polari, he's and absolute _darling_." Olga said before unlocking the door. Once inside, Helga was overwhelmed. The place was huge! There was a large living space, and to the right was a sumptuous kitchen with an island bar. Two doors off to the left must have lead to the bedrooms, but the main room was what caught Helga's attention. The far wall was made entirely of glass, making for an incredible view. Helga wondered idly how much Bob paid for this place. Of course, only the best for his Olga, his prize-winning daughter.

"Helga, your room will be the first door on your left. The second one is mine. So if you need me, I'll be right there." Olga said, and she went into the kitchen. Helga stood in the middle of the large room, still staring out the large windows. Since Olga was rarely here, the space was hardly furnished. There was a beige love seat over by the front door, and there was a large dining table set up close to the kitchen. Besides that, there was nothing else.

Helga's room was as impersonal as her hospital ward, albeit much more comfortable. She noticed she had her own bathroom, which was a huge perk. There was a large bed with a very inviting duvet made on it, as well as a dresser, a desk and a chair. Other than that, the room was empty. Helga dumped her bag and took out the blue folder Arnold had given her, which was now full of papers she had to go through. Deciding to tackle hat after she had freshened up, she poked her head out the door of her room.

"Olga?" She called. "Yes, Baby Sister?" Olga called back. "I'm going to shower, if that's alright." Helga said tentatively. She frowned at herself. Why did she sound so nervous? "Oh, that's fine. When your done, I'll have some clothes set out for you. I'm also making a yummy lasagna for you." Olga said cheerfully. Helga's stomach growled, but her mind was on what Olga had said.

"What clothes?" I only have what I'm wearing!" She said. "Oh, when Daddy said I was going to be looking after you, I went ahead and did some shopping. Everything's in the dresser. But don't worry Helga; I'll pick something cute out for you!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Helga muttered, then shut the door. Refusing to look at what atrocities Olga had bought, Helga walked into the bathroom and proceeded to strip down. Looking at her bare chest, Helga examined her bruises, and her incision. Dr. Crannel said that as long as she kept it clean, and applied vitamin E oil on it regularly, it shouldn't get infected, or leave a scar. She was still on antibiotics, and would be for the next few days. Her bruises looked a lot better, the worst parts still dark, but most of it had faded to yellow. Her incision ran from the center of her chest and down, stopping just before her bra line. The good doctor had also said that once the stitches came out, it would shrink considerably. Helga hoped that was true. Turning away from her reflection, Helga stepped into the shower.

Afterward, Helga sat in her brand-new clothes, eating dinner with Olga. She was wearing a pink knitted sweater, dark blue jeans, and brand-new pink chucks. Weirdly enough, Olga had also bought her new underwear. The bra she was wearing was white, and had a pattern of pink roses on the cups, with panties to match. Trying to get over the fact that Olga knew her bra size, Helga dug in hungrily. As much as her sister aggravated her, she knew how to cook. Olga was sipping some red wine while she observed Helga.

"So, Baby Sister. Tell me more about your little boyfriend, Arnold." Helga nearly choked on her bite of garlic bread. Sputtering, Helga looked at Olga with wide eyes.

"He...he isn't...we-were not..." Helga hurriedly took large gulps of her soda to avoid talking further. Olga pierced Helga with a knowing, almost motherly look.

"Helga, I pride myself on being an observant woman. Either this boy is your boyfriend, or he _was_ , or he is _going_ to be. I could tell from the way he looked at you." Helga stared at Olga in amazement. She wasn't used to people in her family knowing much about her personal life. Hell, Bob and Miriam hardly knew she even _had_ a boyfriend. They never noticed when Arnold would visit her at home, although it wasn't often. To hear Olga practically hit the nail on the head in this situation...frankly it threw Helga for a loop.

Helga looked down at her plate, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Olga spoke up first. "If your wanting my approval Helga, it isn't necessary. I know I haven't been around for you to really rely on me as a sister. And I know you tend to have...complicated relationships. But believe when I say that I think that that boy is good for you." Helga stared, stunned by Olga's words.

"What do you mean by 'complicated relationships'?" She asked. "Well, for starters, I know that you and Mommy and Daddy haven't always gotten along... and I know that you were...frankly a bit of a bully when you were younger." Olga shrugged, smiling at Helga. "But I knew that you would grow out of it and become the person you are today. A lovely, passionate, and good person. And I think that this boy has helped you. You can deny it all you want, but he loves you. And I'm certain you love him too."

Olga took another sip of her wine, and continued to eat. Helga was again stunned. She had always thought that Olga didn't care about her, and was only doing this for her to make Bob and Miriam happy. But for Olga to say those things, like how she knew Helga would be a good person, and how she had picked up on her relationship with Arnold...Helga looked back at her sister, seeing her with new eyes. Smiling, Helga picked up her fork and started to eat again.

When they both were done, Olga got up and started to clear the dishes. Helga got up too, and walked over to Olga and hugged her. Olga froze for a moment, then put the plates back down and hugged Helga back.

"Silly Helga, whats this all about?" She asked, gently pulling away and looking into her sisters face. "Helga...are you crying?" Helga shook her head, wiping her eyes. She spoke quickly before she lost her nerve.

"I...I just wanted to thank you...for doing all of this. And...for saying what you said earlier. I know it sounds strange, but it means a lot...so..." Helga stepped back from Olga and rubbed her arm self-consciously. Olga smiled at her. "Of course Baby Sister. You can tell me anything. I'll always be here if you need to talk." Helga nodded, then turned to go into her room. She had briefly wondered if she should tell Olga the truth...but she decided against it. Her life, Phoebe's and Arnold's lives had been turned upside down because of this. She didn't need to get Olga mixed in too...not when they might on the verge of a new, healthy relationship. Helga shook her head. This was _her_ problem. And she would take care of it, without bringing in her sister.

Exhausted, Helga fell into bed without changing clothes. She idly wondered if Olga had bought her pajamas. Probably so, but that would have to wait till morning. Snuggling into the plush pillows, Helga fell asleep, dreaming of bright green eyes, soft blonde hair, and a gorgeous smile.

The next few days were some of the dullest Helga had ever had to endure. Since Dr. Crannel had said she shouldn't push herself too hard, she wasn't allowed to go to school until next week. With Phoebe out of town and Arnold equally unavailable, she was forced to be cooped up in Olga's penthouse apartment. Olga herself was home in the morning and evening, to wake Helga up and give her her antibiotic, and to have dinner with her before drifting off to bed. Helga had no clue where Olga disappeared off to, only she was sure it was some sort of charity work.

Helga spent most of those days in a chair, looking out the window over the city. It really was a stunning view... it was inspiring her to write again. Even now she had her trademark pink book on her lap, in the middle of writing a poem. It was Thursday now... Rhonda's party was tomorrow. She was going to go, but she felt nervous about it. For some reason, she felt like something was going to happen at this party. Something good...or something bad. She couldn't tell. Helga frowned as she realized she still didn't have anything to wear, or a way to get there. As she pondered this new predicament, she felt her cell go off. Looking at the screen, she saw it was Phoebe.

"Hey Phoebs. Whats up?" Helga said, trying to sound bored, but really she was over the moon at hearing her best friends voice. "Nothing much. I got back a day early and thought I would call you. How are you doing?" Phoebe replied.

"Eh, trying to not die of boredom. I'm staying with Olga for a bit." She could hear Phoebe's sigh of relief even through the phone. Before she could ask, Phoebe spoke again.

"Oh thank goodness! I was so afraid you had gone home. How is being with your sister?" "Not bad," Helga said, tracing a pattern on the chair she was sitting in with her finger. "The place has an incredible view. Olga isn't around too much, but I guess its good thing." "I'm going to guess that you haven't told Olga about your...situation, have you?" Phoebe could be a freaking mind reader sometimes.

Helga sighed. "No, and I won't. In case you've forgotten Phoebs, she's the golden child. My parents 'perfect daughter'. How do you think she'll react when she finds out her family isn't as 'oh so perfect' as she's been brought up to know?"

"Well, I suppose it would be quite a shock..." Phoebe said reluctantly. There was silence on the line before Phoebe spoke again. "But...she's your sister. I'm sure that she'll rally to your side in an instant. She might be able to help you."

"No chance Phoebs. Its bad enough that you and Arnold got into this. I'm not going to ruin my sister's life." There was silence again, this time for longer. Thinking that at last she had closed the topic, Helga spoke. "Anyway, I am glad you called. You going to Rhonda's party tomorrow?"

After a moment, Phoebe responded. "Yes, I'm going. Gerald and Arnold are going too I believe. Wait..." She said, her tone turning suspicious. "Are you going Helga?"

"Gee, don't sound so shocked. Yes I'm going, but I don't have anything to wear. I know the dress code changed, but still..." "Helga!" Phoebe practically shouted, causing Helga to hold her phone away from her ear. "Phoebs, could you try to not make me go deaf?" Helga said, rubbing her ear irritably.

"Sorry, its just that I might have the perfect outfit for you!" Phoebe squealed in a most un-Phoebe way. Helga was surprised, and a little suspicious. "Phoebe, care to explain?"

"Oh, my aunt gave me this outfit while we were visiting, but I didn't really care for it. Is not really my style, but I know you'll love it!" Phoebe said happily. "Oh...well, ok I guess. When do you want to bring it over?"

"I can come over now. Its no trouble." Phoebe sounded...really, _really_ excited. Why was everyone so damn happy about her going to a stupid party? Helga brushed it off, and gave Phoebe the directions to Olga's place.

"Oh yeah, Phoebe. How am I going to get there?" "Gerald is picking me up, then Arnold, and we can pick you up too. Your on the way to Rhonda's, so it'll be easy." Phobe said, still sounding like a kid on Christmas morning. Helga nodded, before realizing that Phoebe couldn't hear her.

"Right. Sounds good Phoebs. Let me know when you get here, I'll see you soon." "See you soon Helga!" Phoebe chirped and hung up. Helga frowned slightly at her phone. She wondered what Phoebe was going to bring her. She knew she could trust her friends judgment, Phoebe had never steered her wrong before. But why did she have this feeling that her friends knew something she didn't? Shrugging off the feeling again, she got up from her chair to walk to the kitchen island, to munch on something while she waited for Phoebe.

All the way across town, Phoebe put her phone in her pocket, smiling widely. She turned and faced the small group in front of her.

"Did she suspect anything?" Gerald asked. "Nope, not a thing!" Phoebe said, practically hopping up and down with joy. She turned to Arnold, who was busy pouring over a paper he held in his hand. He looked at his two friends, a shy smile spreading on his face.

"Think this will work?" He said. Phoebe nodded, picking up a clipboard with a checklist of items to follow. "Oh yes," She said. "This will work out fantastically!"

 **So, what in the world might be going on? Hmm...We'll find out next chapter! Also, I deemed this a good opportunity to introduce Olga in this story. She might become more major later on, I dunno. So, I hope you enjoyed, and see you next time! I'll upload again as soon as possible.**


	10. Chapter 10 I Believe In You

**Hello again! We have reached chapter 10! Honestly, this was my favorite chapter to write. And this was actually the first thing I thought of when I came up with this story. It is my favorite moment, so I beg you to please review this. Also, if this seemed a bit short, never fear! Part two of the party will be up soon, so it doesn't end there. And really, what Hey Arnold fic would be complete without a famous Rhonda Lloyd Party? Anyway, I hope you enjoy! These are not my characters, all rights go to Craig Bartlett. Happy Reading!**

Arnold looked at stage uncertainly. It was a double platform, with the wider stage down below, with a small set of stairs leading to a smaller platform. On it were a variety of instruments. Arnold turned to Gerald and frowned.

"I don't know if this will work..." he said. He put the paper he was holding down, shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. It had seemed like a good idea at first, a wonderful fantasy. But now it seemed like a stupid dream. Gerald clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "I know your nervous Arnold. But this is a really really good idea. Besides, I know you haven't made me practice this for days for nothing right?" Arnold looked up into Gerald's confident face.

"Yeah, but.." "No buts Arnold. Helga will absolutely love your performance." Rhonda smirked from her position by the speakers. "Since your going to have my welcome back party at your disposal, its going to be positively flawless." Although Rhonda initially disliked having her stage taken from her, she conceded once she heard Arnold's impassioned plea. And deep down, she really wanted this to work.

Arnold still looked unsure, but then Phoebe spoke up. "Arnold, trust me. Helga is going to love this" "How can you be so sure?" Arnold whined back. Phoebe looked at him with a wide smile. "Simple. Because its you. Now, lets get going people, we got rehearsals to do!" Arnold looked at the rest of them, at all of the friends he had since childhood. Emboldened by her exclamation, Arnold nodded. "Right. Let's do this!"

Helga grumbled. She really, really, _really_ didn't understand why it was so important for her to go to this stupid party. Phoebe had come by yesterday with a shopping bag in hand, containing Helga's outfit for the evening. When her best friend had dropped off the bag of clothes for her, Helga tried to grill her more about the party. Phoebe hadn't budged though, and only replied with a short "Ill pick you up at seven Helga!" And off she went. She hadn't stopped long enough to admire Olga's apartment, or really talk to Helga at all. That made her really suspicious. And now that she had seen what Phoebe had brought her, she was more confused than ever..

Laid out on her bed was a plum long-sleeved shirt. It had quite the revealing neckline, and just under the bust the cotton gave way to a flowy, satin-like material. It was very, very different than what she was used to. Paired with the shirt was a pair of black satin leggings, and a pair of ankle boots to match the shirt. It didn't look bad, but Helga remembered what Phoebe had told her yesterday: _"_ _Oh, my aunt gave me this outfit while we were visiting, but I didn't really care for it. Is not really my style, but I know you'll love it!"_ The thing was, this was _exactly_ the sort of thing Phoebe would wear. It didn't make sense.

Noticing that she only had a half hour until Phoebe showed up, she started to get dressed. Looking at herself in the full-length bathroom mirror, she studied the clothing on her body.

Thankfully, the shirt's neckline was high enough that her incision didn't show, or any of the bruising, as faded as it was. It did make her cleavage more...pronounced, however. She twisted herself around, looking at her back. The satin leggings were a snug fit, greatly accentuating her long, toned legs. For the first time in her life, Helga was glad she had a thong. It was one that had Olga purchased, and Helga silently thanked her sister for it. Noticing that her ass looked particularly well-defined in these, Helga decided to turn around, not wanting to think about it.

Examining her face, she breather a sigh of relief. The marks on her cheeks were finally gone, so for once Helga dint need to wear her usual mask of makeup. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail, and considered herself ready. After a moment, she reconsidered. Maybe a little makeup wouldn't hurt... She went and fetched the bag Phoebe had brought her. She had said that she had brought some suitable stuff...pulling out a eye-shadow palette, mascara and some lipstick, Helga went back to the bathroom.

After a quick swipe of some eye-shadow, mascara, and some pinkish-red lipstick she was done. Turning her head from side to side, Helga looked impressed with herself. She didn't look half bad. Pulling some tendrils out of her ponytail to frame her face, Helga nodded. _Now_ she was ready. She glanced at her phone. She had about eight minutes till Phoebe's arrival. Knowing her friend was ever punctual, she grabbed the matching purse (Phoebe really did think of everything,) she walked out of her room into the large living area.

Helga intended on waiting on the beige love-seat until Phoebe knocked. She had already told Olga that she was going out, and that she probably would be back late. Olga had no issues with her going out, she just gave her an extra key to the apartment and told her to be careful. Idly wondering where Olga had gone she hadn't immediately noticed someone sitting at the kitchen island. Looking up from where she sat, she found herself looking straight at her mother.

Miriam was sitting at one of the stools, a glass tumbler full of some amber liquid in her hand. A bottle of the same stuff was by her side. Helga didn't know long long she had it, or how long she had been drinking, but the large bottle was more than half empty. Miriam looked her daughter up and down with unfocused eyes. "Where are you going looking like that?" She said, with her usual slur . "Out." Helga replied ,turning her eyes on the door. She had no idea why she was here, but she was suddenly filled with dread.

"Don't-don't take that-" Miriam burped loudly before continuing. "Tone with me, you little skank." She slid off the stool and surprisingly didn't fall over. She ambled to Helga with the grace of a cat ready to pounce. Helga continued to avert her eyes and scrunched her nose as the acrid smell of booze hit her nostrils. "I'm going out with some friends, mother." She replied in a toneless voice.

"You-you don't have any friends," Miriam said as though Helga hadn't spoken. "Yes, I do." Helga said in a small voice.

"Please," Miriam sneered, coming closer to her daughter. "You've ne-never had any friends. You've always been a b-bully. A loner. Who would want to be associated with y-you? If anything, your going to probably meet...some _boy_... in an alley. Gonna give him a g-good time?" Miriam made an obscene gesture with her hand. Helga looked away, disgusted. That's all your good for. You s _lut_."

Helga closed her eyes tight. She pretended that Miriam wasn't here. That the stench of alcohol wasn't going to make her vomit. She hoped with all her might, but her mother's words hit her like bullets.

"Where's Olga? Why are you here?" Helga said quietly. " She's in the shower. I asked her if I could come by. I wanted to know how she was doing, after having to babysit a brat like you, I was concerned for her. You know," Miriam said, bending down to look at Helga closer. "I will never know for the life of my why I had you. You've been nothing but trouble for _me_ , your _father_ , and now your poor _sister_. She doesn't deserve this you know. She doesn't deserve to be saddled with a hopeless leech. She has her own goals, her own dreams. Something you could _never_ understand." Miriam chuckled at Helga's lack of reply. Knowing she had struck a nerve, she continued.

" You know that boy, who was so rude to me and your father at the hospital? What was his name... _Arnold_. Didn't you date him once?" Miriam laughed again as Helga stiffened at the name. "Huh, I thought so. Didn't he leave you? He never cared for you. He _left_ you. And so will everyone who comes into contact with your sorry ass." Helga noticed that her mother suddenly lost the slur in her voice, her words becoming clearer. Suddenly her head was jerked back, forcing her eyes open. Her mothers unkempt hair tickled her face, her eyes glazed with booze. Her face was red and blotchy, and seething with an unknown rage.

"No one. Cares about you. Do you hear me?" Miriam's voice had suddenly gotten feather soft, but her words were deadly. "I said" She seethed, " _Do you hear me?!_ " Helga nodded, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. "That boy... he only wants one thing from you. And once he gets it, he's going to leave you all over again. He'll dump you like the trash you are." Helga shook her head, wanting so badly to not believe her mothers words. She thought about all the things Arnold had said to her, all the promises he made. She couldn't keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks."Oh, poor baby. Guess what? No one cares if you cry. No one would care if you died. Your a good for nothing _whore_. Cheap. Worthless. A unsightly blemish in my life." She shoved Helga hard and she fell to the floor. As Helga struggled to get upright, there was a knock at the door.

"Better get going," Miriam said, turning and making her way to the living room. "Your _friends_ are here." Sneering those last words, Miriam went back to her stool. There was a second, slightly more hesitant knock on the door. Helga picked herself off the floor, and straightened her hair. "C-coming!" She called. She took a steadying breath, and opened the door. _"No matter what,"_ She thought, as she greeted Phoebe and Gerald and they went to the elevator. _"I will not let her ruin this night."_

Phoebe looked at her friend with concern on the elevator ride down. "Are you alright, Helga?" She said softly, reaching up and wiping away some smudges of mascara from Helga's eyes. Helga nodded, still trying to steady her breathing. "Just a run-in with Miriam." Phoebe's brow furrowed. She glanced at Gerald, who was busy with his phone."Why was she here?" She whispered.

Helga shook her head. "No idea." When the elevator doors opened, Helga realized who was missing. "Hey, where's Arnold?" Gerald turned to look a her, and he smiled at Helga's question.

"He got held up at the boarding house. Apparently some of the repairs he was doing weren't holding up so well." Gerald laughed then, earning an elbow in the ribs from Phoebe.

"He texted me that he was going to meet us there." She explained, as they reached Gerald's Jeep. Helga got in the back while Phoebe sat shotgun. Helga couldn't help but feel a little hurt, especially in her recent state. Leave it to the football head to mess things up... Helga sighed. More likely it was the boarders who made things difficult. Silently, she cursed them for their rotten timing. But then another thought occurred to her. Why had Arnold texted Phoebe, and not her? With that question burning in her mind, she sent Arnold a text herself. No response. Frowning, Helga settled back into her seat, wondering how this night would pan out.

The drive there was short, as Phoebe had said. The driveway to Rhonda's mansion was planted with fresh _Jacaranda_ trees, their large purple blooms swaying in the night air. Every few feet twinkle lights were set up, lighting their way. A group of valets were at the ready when they pulled to the front of the mansion. Handing Gerald a ticket, a scrawny youth hopped in the Jeep and peeled away.

"If that ass hat dents my ride, Rhonda owes me big time." Gerald grumbled. He offered his arm to Phoebe, and she giggled as she took it. As a joke, Gerald offered his arm to Helga as well.

"Fat chance, Geraldo." She said, a look of disgust appearing on her face. Gerald shrugged. "Just thought I'd offer. But all things considered, Arnold might bite my arm off." He laughed at his own joke. Helga laughed too, the image that popped into her head to hilarious to measure. Phoebe laughed as well, and offered _her_ arm to Helga. After raising her eyebrows, Helga took it. Gerald looked surprised too, and Helga saw her opening.

"Better watch out, bucko. I might just steal your woman." Helga winked at Phoebe, and the smaller girl roared with laughter. Helga and Gerald joined in too, and the three of them made their way into the mansion.

The foyer was decorated in Hillwood Highs school colors, royal blue and white. Great big banners adorned the walls, and waiters floated around, trays full of snacks and drinks. To the right, two double doors led into the ballroom, where the main party was being held. Already they could hear music pounding. The foyer was littered with people, some who called out to Phoebe, Gerald and Helga in greeting.

The three made their way into the ballroom. It was decorated much like the foyer, with blue and white banners, silk streamers, and an enormous disco ball in place of a chandelier. A large stage stood to the far left, and along one wall was an expansive buffet of food. There were plush couches and tables scattered here and there, and a wide expanse of space had been made to serve as the dance floor. To the right of the stage a man was manning a DJ booth. The stage itself was set up, but nothing on it. _"Rhonda must be using it for later,"_ Helga mused. Rhonda did like to perform. Dancing battles, rap battles, and karaoke were pretty common for one of Rhonda's parties. More waiters were dotted here and there, decked out in blue and white. The lights above were flashing red, yellow, blue, purple and green. It made the silhouettes of the people dancing look dark and dangerous.

Helga couldn't help but crane her neck, looking for Arnold. Where was he? "Is he here yet?" Helga yelled over the music. "What?" Phoebe said, putting her hand to her ear.

"Arnold! Is he here yet?" Helga shouted, pulling Phoebe closer t her. Phoebe shrugged and pulled three drinks from a passing waiter's tray. Handing one to Helga and Gerald, she proceeded to walk closer to the stage, weaving in and out of the crowd.

Helga sipped her drink, wondering where in the world Arnold was. Gerald mentioned something about going to the bathroom, and he left Phoebe and Helga alone.

"So, what...did your mother say to you?" Phoebe shouted, taking advantage of Gerald's absence.

Helga shook her head. "You don't wanna know!" She shouted. Phoebe nodded in understanding, and patted her friends arm sympathetically. "At least, for tonight, don't think about it too much!" Phoebe yelled. Helga nodded, and smiled at Phoebe. For the next twenty minutes, her and Phoebe listened to the music thumping over the speakers. Helga was still craning her neck to catch a glimpse of Arnold. Gerald hadn't returned. Phoebe said she would go look for him, and she melted into the crowd. Five minutes...ten minutes...fifteen minutes had passed, and she hadn't returned either. Helga was seriously starting to get pissed off. First Arnold had failed to show, and he wasn't answering any of her messages. Gerald mysteriously vanished, and now Phoebe? Feeling like this night had been a wast of her time, Helga turned around. Trying to ignore the pricking in her eyes, Helga decided she was going home. Helga realized she didn't have a ride, but she didn't care. She would walk. No sooner had she taken a single step, Nadine and Sheena appeared before her eyes.

"Helga! Were so glad your ok!" Nadine shouted, gently embracing her. Sheena echoed the statement, also hugging Helga. "Where are you going?" Nadine said, noticing Helga's upset expression. "Oh, I was...gonna head home." Helga said, looking away from their earnest faces. Helga didn't know Nadine and Sheena as well as the rest of the gang, but she still felt a little bad at seeing their saddened faces.

"Oh, but were just getting started!" Sheena said. Nadine nodded in agreement. "Hey, why don't you dance with us?" Nadine quiped. Helga looked at the two eager girls in front of her. She knew they were trying to be nice, but Helga really just wanted to leave. She was about to say so, when Sheena looked past her in surprise.

"Look, Rhonda is going to say something!" Helga turned. Rhonda was indeed up on stage, motioning to the DJ to cut the music. Once it did, the groans from the throng of people was just as loud as the music was. Unperturbed, Rhonda held the microphone to her lips. She was wearing a well-cut dress to her knees, in her signature red color. Her hair was swept in an elegant bun, and her makeup looked perfect as always.

"Everyone, I'd like to thank all of you for coming to my Welcome Back Party! I'm sure we'll all have a fabulous time. Now, before I break out the karaoke and other such fun, we have a very special performance from one of our very own!" Rhonda gestured to the opening of the curtains as she spoke, tactfully stepping out from the middle of the stage.

 _"Special performance?"_ Helga thought. _"What the hell did she mean by that?"_ Her question was answered when the curtain opened a bit, revealing Arnold and Gerald, center stage. They were on the upper part of the stage,leaving the larger portion empty. Helga gaped at them. This was where they were?" Gerald was sitting on a chair, a guitar on his lap. A small mic was positioned near him to amplify the sound. Arnold himself held no microphone, but he had an earpiece attached to his left ear, making sure he was heard as well as his hands being free. There was some rustling behind the curtain that had closed behind them, but all eyes were on Arnold.

Helga gasped as she took a good look at him. He was wearing a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his well-built arms, but the thing that caught Helga's attention was that the shirt was the _exact same color_ as the blouse she was wearing. On top of that, he was wearing black pants, black shoes, and a black vest and tie over the shirt. His usual blue hat was absent, and instead his head was bare, his hair slicked back and artfully gelled.

Helga couldn't help it...she was drooling and she knew it. Arnold looked...well, _hot_. And she wasn't the only one who noticed either. Other girls Helga didn't know were whispering and blushing as they looked at him. It was an open secret that Arnold had grown up to be a very handsome guy, with he and Gerald often considered to be the best looking boys in their school. And with Gerald taken...Arnold had been the subject of _much_ admiration and gossip. Helga usually ignored it, but it still bugged her to see other girls fawning over him. But like the true gentleman he was, Arnold didn't pay any attention to it. " _Either that, or he was as dense as ever."_ Helga thought.

Arnold cleared his throat then, and a hush fell over the crowd. His eyes scanned the room until they locked with Helga's. And there they stayed. Helga was lost in the gaze, unaware that Nadine and Sheena had taken Helga's arms gently, either to keep her in place or to keep her standing, she didn't know.

"Before we begin, I would like to say that this is for someone who is here today." Arnold said, a bit of a nervous edge to his voice. Some eyes looked confused, but a few darted to Helga before roving back to Arnold. "This...this is an apology. An apology, a confession, and hopefully, the start of something new...for the both of us." His eyes never leaving Helga's, he pointed at Gerald, who began to play.

As the melody began to fill the room, Helga found herself trapped by the music. She knew this song...from somewhere...then suddenly, Arnold began to sing.

" _Time goes by  
And I've been holding everything inside  
But now I've got nothing left to hide  
When I'm with you, oh, you"_

His voice flowed into her... all around her... she had no idea that Arnold could sing, especially this good. Feeling the two girls tug at her arms, Helga followed them closer to the stage.

" _But I can see  
How strong a man I'm gonna have to be"_

Arnold gestured at his chest before pointing at Helga smiling a smile that Helga had only rarely seen him show.

 _"To do for you what comes so naturally  
It's in the way you move"_

And as the melody intensified, the curtains behind Arnold and Gerald opened wide, revealing Harold, Stinky, and Sid, all playing their respective instruments.

" _And all I want  
Is a chance to prove  
Show all I can do" _

As the song reached the chorus, Arnold leaped from the steps, landing on his feet in the middle of the stage.

" _I believe in starting over  
I can see that your heart is true  
I believe in good things coming back to you"_

Arnold was clearly enjoying himself now, that mischievous smile still on his face as he sang.

 _"You're the light that lifts me higher  
So bright, you guide me through  
I believe in you"_

The crowd was going wild, but all Helga could do was stare. Was he really doing this for her? Was he really singing, pouring his heart out in front of all these people, for her?

" _And I don't mind  
If you want to hold onto me tight  
You don't have to sleep alone tonight  
If you don't want to"_

Arnold walked over closer to the edge of the stage, the spotlight following him.

" _And all I want  
Is to know you're near  
You're all I need here"_

" _I believe in starting over  
I can see that your heart is true  
I believe in good things coming back to you  
You're the light that lifts me higher  
So bright, you guide me through  
I believe in you"_

Arnold knelt down then, almost eye level to Helga. She hadn't even noticed that she had gotten this close.

 _I know that there are times  
When you feel worthless_

Helga stared at him, completely speechless.

 _"Like all the love you get  
You don't deserve it"_

Arnold reached out and brushed his hand along her cheek as he continued to sing. It was as if there was no one else in the entire room.

 _"Sometimes I feel my faith is just a burden  
On you, you, you"_

Arnold then dropped his hand down to clasp her own. Helga was completely entranced. She didn't even notice that Nadine and Sheena had let go of her.

" _I believe in starting over  
I can see your heart is true  
I believe in love  
You give me reason to  
You're the light that lifts me higher  
So high up in the sky"_

Arnold still had that look in his eyes... he started to stand... "Arnold, what-" Her words were drowned by the next line.

 _"I, I think we're gonna fly"_

Arnold stood up swiftly, pulling Helga up onto the stage with ease.

" _I believe in starting over  
I can see that your heart is true  
I believe in love  
You give me reason to"_

Arnold spun Helga around, then pulled her in so he was holding her from behind, moving her to the music.

 _"You're the light that lifts me higher  
So bright, you guide me through  
I believe in you  
I believe in you"_

Arnold spun her again and again. Helga was starting to get dizzy. She was completely helpless, caught up in his spell, in the moment.

 _"I believe in you  
You guide me through"_

As the music slowed, Arnold stopped Helga from spinning and dipped her low, staring deep into her eyes.

 _"I believe in you..."_

And with that last, long note, Arnold bent and kissed Helga deeply.

Helga wasn't aware that the curtains had closed. She didn't care that over fifty, maybe even the whole school had just seen what happened. All she knew was Arnold's lips on hers, his arms wrapped around her tightly. Arnold pulled away first, looking at her with the sweetest, most loving smile she had ever seen.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. Arnold straightened them both up, but he didn't release her. Instead, he leaned his forehead against her own, and said: "Telling you that I love you."

It was the same thing he had said to her when they had first started dating. Helga thought her heart would burst from her chest. "But..." Helga started to say, however Arnold shook his head, making her stop short.

"Helga... I was wrong. I was wrong to leave you. I was wrong to think that you had stopped caring for me, loving me. I made the biggest mistake of my life that day." He reached up and cupped her face in his hand. She leaned into his touch on instinct, closing her eyes at the warmth of his hand.

"Helga, I meant every word I sang to you just now. I want us to start over. And I know you want to as well." Helga opened her eyes and gazed into his. As much as those dark thoughts wanted to enter her mind, Helga pushed them away. She wanted nothing else than to be with Arnold, the boy she had loved since she was only a toddler. Wordlessly, she nodded.

"Really?" He asked, smiling even wider. "Yes," she whispered. She took her own hands and put them on either side of Arnold's face and kissed him passionately. Arnold responded eagerly, lifting her up into the air and twirling her around. When he finally set her back down, they broke apart, both giggling like fools.

"Helga, "Arnold said, taking her hands and looking into her eyes again. "I promise you, I am going to get you out of this situation. I don't know how, but I know we can do this together. I will make sure that every day you know that you are loved, that you are _cherished_ , and that you are the most beautiful, amazing person I have ever known. And I promise that I will spend every day of my life making up for my mistake."

Helga didn't know what to say. She knew Arnold spoke nothing but the truth. _"Maybe.."_ she thought, _"Maybe this is real. Maybe I can be happy."_ Choosing to trust her heart to the boy in front of her, Helga wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest. " _Miriam is wrong. I deserve to be happy. I am worthy of happiness."_

"I love you, Arnold." Was all she said. And when his strong arms found their way back to hold her again, Helga knew she was finally home.

 **Yes! I know this moment is what some of you had been waiting for. If it read a bit strange, I do apologize. I tried to depict it as Helga's thoughts while Arnold was singing, so that's why it went back and forth the way it did. I also put the whole song in here because I honestly thought it fit. I got the inspiration for this while watching the episode "Partners" where Arnold sings with Gerald on piano. Was this cheesy? Perhaps. Did I love every moment? Heck yes I did! By the way, the song is called "I Believe In You" by Michael Bublé. If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend it. Anyway, the second part of this chapter will be up soon. Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!**


	11. Chapter 11 Afterparty Aftermath

**Hi! Sorry it took so long to update. So I made this chapter longer to kinda compensate. Also, updating will be slower since I will be having knee surgery on the 29th, so dont expect anything from me for a little bit. By no means i the story on hiatus, I'm just trying to forewarn before it happens. As always, please review and rate this chapter, and I look forward to hearing what you think. Also, I own nothing, all rights go to Craig Bartlett. Happy Reading!**

Arnold was acutely aware of his heart banging a fierce rhythm in his chest. He could barely believe that this had worked. Helga was here, and she didn't hate him! She was here, in his arms, and they were back where they belonged; together.

He could hear the music playing, and knew the party was back in full swing. Leaning back a bit to look at Helga, he smiled at her.

"Want to head back and join the others?" He asked. Helga bit her lip, and he was sure about what she would say. "Were gonna have to see them eventually you know." He said with a small chuckle. "Yeah..." Helga replied. Sensing her hesitation, Arnold placed his hand under her chin and lifted it so she would meet his eyes.

"It's ok. I promise. If anybody says anything stupid..." He hesitated then, but said his next words with complete conviction. "Screw them. It isn't their business. Whats important is us." Helga smiled then, and nodded. With that, they strode hand in hand around the back of the stage, rejoining the party.

No one gave them a second glance as they waded through the crowd. Arnold eventually put his arm around Helga's waist, in order to not lose her. Up against one of the walls was a small cluster of plush couches. Most of the gang was already there, except for Rhonda, who was currently on stage entertaining, and Sheena and Eugene, who were currently doing a spirited waltz on the dance floor. Phoebe and Gerald were sitting together in one of the larger chairs, while Harold, Sid, and Stinky were playing a round of poker. Upon seeing the two blondes approaching, all of them yelled out in greeting, Harold and Sid catcalling at Arnold and Helga holding hands.

After grimacing at them, Arnold and Helga sat down on a small couch, just big enough for two. Upon sitting, Arnold put his arm around Helga's shoulders. She leaned into him as though it was the most natural thing to do. Arnold and Gerald reached out and did their special handshake while Phoebe giggled.

"Oh, I am so happy for both of you!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Me too," Gerald added, clapping Arnold on the shoulder. "Told you it would work." Gerald smirked at his last statement. Arnold rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Can you blame me though? I was going crazy about this!" Gerald and Phoebe both laughed. Helga leaned forward, a mixed expression on her face; both curious, and suspicious.

"So...how long exactly have you guys been planning this?" She asked them. Arnold glanced at her, then Phoebe. But it was Gerald who answered.

"It was about a week ago. We all got the invite for this, then Arnold texts me about this plan of his, begging me to help him." Arnold shoved his best friend roughly, his cheeks going red. "I did not _beg_!" He said frowning. Gerald laughed and put his hands up in defeat.

"Sure sure. Whatever you say." Shaking his head, Gerald continued speaking. "Anyway, I got in touch with Phoebe, who told everyone else."

"And that was it? You all just decided to help?" Helga said skeptically. "Well, Gerald and I were on board immediately," Phoebe said. She looked over at the three boys playing cards. "They needed a little convincing." Helga turned to look at them too. All the while they had been talking, they were still absorbed in their game. Helga grabbed an empty drink cup and hurled it at Harold. Right on target, it hit him square in the face.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing his nose. "Hey, you three quit playing cards for milk money and join he conversation!" Helga barked. Harold looked angry, but did as he was told. Motioning to Stinky and Sid, they scooted their chairs over o join the two couples.

"Well, what exactly are we talking about?" Harold said grouchily, crossing his arms. "About how you guys helped me out with tonight." Arnold said, stifling a laugh.

Harold blinked, suddenly looking bashful. "Well, Phoebe called and said we needed to help Arnold with getting back together with Helga..." "And at first I didn't want to. I don't even really know how to read music, let alone play it!" Sid said, cutting off Harold. "But Phoebe told us to remember all the things that Arnold has done for all of us over the years..." Stinky added, looking at them with a small smile on his face. "And well, we plum decided that we did owe Arnold a favor."

Phoebe nodded. "We did this for the both of you." She said, reaching out and clasping Helga's hand. "We all knew how much you care about each other, and we all want to see you happy."

"That's right," Gerald said. "The two of you had been miserable for too long without each other. It was time for us to take action. We just needed _someone_..." Gerald looked pointedly at Arnold, who quickly made a face, "To make the first move." Arnold shook his head, but he was smiling. He squeezed Helga's shoulder, and kissed her temple. Helga looked simply stunned.

"You...you guys did all of this... for us?" She said. They all nodded, smiling at her expression. Arnold felt his heart swell looking at her. She looked so...in awe of everything. It was completely out of character for her. And it was adorable.

"So... when did you guys manage to practice this?" She said. "You were out of town," She pointed at Phoebe. "And you... you were helping your grandpa. How did you guys manage that?" Arnold laughed. _"I guess its time to come clean."_ He thought.

"Well... don't be mad, but I...kinda, sorta...lied. About helping my grandpa." He flinched back in case Helga would swat him. But she didn't. She just gaped at him, her mouth slightly open. Shaking her head slightly, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Arnold Phillip Shortman... you actually _lied_ to me?" Arnold gulped and nodded. The smack he was tensing up for never came. Instead, she looked at Phoebe, stunned. But Phoebe was looking at Helga with a most apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry Helga...I kinda lied too. I wasn't really out of town." She said in a small voice. "What?!" Helga yelped, looking at her best friend, stunned yet again. "You too? What next, you're gonna tell me Santa isn't real?"

Arnold laughed. He knew by her tone that she wasn't really mad, just a little shocked. "How else were we supposed to practice?" He said. Helga shrugged. She looked at him then, eyeing him up and down. "Ok, so who's idea was this" She gestured between herself and Arnold, indicating their outfits. Phoebe giggled. "It was mine. I thought it would be cute." Helga frowned. "So, you didn't go out of town, and your aunt didn't give you this outfit?" Phoebe shook her head, smiling in a sneaky manner. "No, I went and bought the outfit myself. Arnold helped me with the color, but I chose everything else." Helga looked at Arnold, who looked remarkably smug.

"And you look absolutely beautiful." He told her, his eyes glowing. Seeing her blush like that made him smile wider.

"So, you weren't helping your grandpa, and you were here the whole time, instead of going with Phoebe and Gerald to come get me?" Helga said, making sure she had it right. Arnold nodded. "Sorry I had to lie to you. I just wanted everything to go smoothly." He leaned in closer to her ear and whispered, "Being away from you for that long was tearing me apart. I'm never going through that again." He leaned back from her slightly, enjoying the fresh blush that appeared on her cheeks.

Helga shook her head in order to clear it. She looked like she had one more question... "So, which one of you convinced Rhonda to change the dress code? And how did you do that?" At her words, Arnold looked even more smug than before.

"That was me. She refused at first, but after I spoke with her, and reminded her about a few things, she relented." Noticing Helga's bemused expression, he shook his head. "She was even so gracious as to lend me her stage." Arnold rolled his eyes as the others laughed again.

Helga nodded. She nestled herself back into the couch, and Arnold's arms encircled her. For awhile, the two blondes said nothing, they just basked in the glow of each others embrace. After a short while, Arnold's ears pricked up as he recognized the beginning to a particular song.

Standing up suddenly, he turned and held out his hands for Helga to take. "Dance with me." Was all he said. Wordlessly, Helga put her hands into his own and let him pull her onto the dance floor.

Arnold wrapped one arm around her waist, his left hand holding hers. He twisted their intertwined fingers toward is chest, toward his heart. Her other hand clasped his shoulder, her forearm resting alongside his. As the song "A Thousand Years" began to play, Arnold began moving swiftly and elegantly, Helga having no problem keeping up with him.

They both danced well, twirling and keeping pace with the music. They never took their eyes off of each other either. To an outsider, it might have looked like they had practiced this dance for days, but in reality, they were just that in tune with each other. At some point during the song, Arnold leaned close to her and whispered along with the lyrics: "I have loved you, for a thousand years...I'll love you for a thousand more..." They continued until the last note rang out. Another song, a somewhat slower number Arnold didn't recognize started to play. He decided to slow them down, and started swaying in time to the song, slowly rotating as he went. Then, he felt a dampness against his cheek and was surprised to see tears in Helga's eyes.

"What's wrong?" He said, stopping them. "Nothing... its just... I don't know what I did... to deserve this. To deserve you." Helga ducked her head, leaning against his chest. Arnold leaned his head on top of hers, letting go of her hand so he could enfold her closer to him.

"You didn't do anything. You were just yourself. I loved you then, and I love you now. Besides," He leaned back so he could look at her face. "Didn't we go through all of this the first time around?" Helga gave a weak chuckle, as she too must have been remembering a very similar conversation when they first started dating. After wiping at her eyes, Helga looked at him with a hesitant smile.

"I'm sorry," She said. "I'm just a little overwhelmed, that's all."Arnold's face must have betrayed how he was feeling, because Helga quickly shook her head to stop him from speaking. "Don't misunderstand; I am really, _really_ happy right now. This...is the best I've felt in years. Its just...with everything that's happened in the last few days...I never thought we'd be here again." Arnold nodded, wanting her to continue.

"I'm just feeling a little... _raw_ I guess. All these emotions and thoughts keep swirling around in my head...plus I had that run-in with Miriam before this and-" "What?!" Arnold nearly shouted, causing several people to look in their direction. Glancing around them, Arnold pulled Helga away from the other people into a more secluded corner of the ballroom. Once he was sure they were alone, he grasped her shoulders and looked her up and down, looking for any sign of injury.

"What happened?" He said curtly, his tone making Helga jump. "It-it's not a big deal...really, I'm fine-" "Helga, tell me what happened. Did she do anything to you?" For a moment, Helga didn't answer. Arnold tried to compose himself. He took several deep breaths, his eyes never leaving Helga's face. Finally, she spoke.

"She...she didn't hit me. I promise." Arnold gave a short nod, but didn't say anything. "She just...said some stuff...and pushed me down. That was it really." Arnold wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not. It sounded as though she was leaving something out, and it was bothering her, whatever it was.

"What did she say to you? Why was she there in the first place?" He asked slowly. Helga shook her head, looking down at the floor. Arnold was starting to lose his patience. They weren't going to get anywhere is she started closing herself off again...

"Helga-" He started to say, but Helga's hand covered his mouth, cutting him off. She was still looking down, but her entire arm was shaking.

"Please..." She whispered, her voice shaking as well. "Please, Arnold. I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm not trying to hide anything, I swear. Just please..." She lifted her head to his, and Arnold felt his heart clench that she had tears in her eyes again. "I just want to enjoy this night together. I don't want to think about anything else. Please."

Arnold nodded, and he took her hand off of his mouth, and kissed it. How could he have been so stupid? As much as his mind burned for answers, his heart ached at seeing Helga upset. "I'm sorry." He said softly, bending to give her a quick, soft kiss. Pulling her closer, he held her for a moment before speaking again.

"I wont mention it again tonight. You can tell me when your ready." Helga nodded against him, and he felt her hold on him tighten. "I'm sorry..." He heard her muffled voice and his heart stuttered. "No, don't apologize. I'm sorry for trying to force it. I wasn't thinking." Helga nodded again, this time as if to affirm that he had indeed, been an idiot. He gave slight chuckle, then released her, keeping only her hands. "Wanna go back and dance?" He asked. Helga shook her head. "I'm actually starving. Let's get some grub and go back to the others." Relieved that she started sounding like her old self, Arnold smiled, and they went to the buffet table.

After loading their plates, they went back to the corner where everyone else had been. Harold and Stinky had disappeared, and Sid was busy chatting up a senior in the corner, without much success. Gerald and Phoebe were still in the same chair, talking in low voices. Arnold couldn't help but glance at Helga from time to time as they ate. He really hoped she was happy... and that she was having a good time. She seemed like her normal self, she chatted with Phoebe and made fun of Gerald and anyone else who happened to walk by... but when her eyes strayed back to her plate of food, her expression would cloud over. She looked lost... and it was very un-Helga. Phoebe seemed to notice this too, because she asked Helga to accompany her to the bathroom. Helga agreed and followed her friend. Arnold couldn't help but stare after her as she walked away. Gerald nudged him in the arm to stop his gawking.

Clearing his throat, Gerald smirked at his best friend. "So, how are things going Romeo?" Arnold smiled. "Everything's fine Gerald. Helga just seems a little...overwhelmed is all." Gerald nodded. "And where did you two sneak off to? One second Phoebe and I see you two dancing, the next...poof! You vanished. Getting busy already huh?" Gerald waggled his eyebrows and Arnold made a face.

"No! We just went somewhere more private...and talked. That's all." "Mm-hmm." Was Gerald's reply. Arnold shot him a look. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Jeez, we all know your a perfect, pure as snow gentleman." Gerald laughed as Arnold blushed. Rolling his eyes, Arnold got up to get some more drinks for himself and Helga. When he got back, he noticed that the girls, as well as Harold and Stinky, had returned. Big Patty was among them as well. Helga was leaning with her left side against the wall with Phoebe, talking. Smiling, Arnold crept up behind Helga, and after motioning to Phoebe to not give him away, wrapped his arms around Helga's waist and put the cold soda against her neck. Yelping, she turned around and slapped him in the chest.

"Criminy, will you ever stop sneaking up on me, football head?!" She yelled, causing everyone around her to laugh. Laughing along with everyone else, but also rubbing the now sore spot on his chest, Arnold put the sodas on the table and put his arms around her again. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." He said, relieved that she at least found it kinda funny. Helga was smirking, and she seemed like her usual self. She looked happy, content, and she was joking with the rest of the gang. As the night went on, Arnold was relieved to see that she had lost that clouded look. She now looked and sounded like the Helga he had known all his life. His Helga. He leaned close to her ear and whispered "I love you." making her jump ever so slightly. Grinning against her ear, he bent a little and kissed her bare shoulder lightly.

"Get a room!" Harold yelled, causing Arnold's head to snap up. Helga had jumped as well, but she didn't pull away from him. Arnold then promptly stuck his tongue out at Harold, causing Helga to snicker at the childish action. Everyone else laughed too, then Gerald added, "Leave the lovebirds alone man. Don't be mad just because you aint getting any." More laughter ensued and Harold blushed. Patty grinned at Gerald behind Harold's back and winked. Arnold went back to nuzzling Helga's neck and shoulder. He was rocking them from side to side in time with the music, much like he did on stage.

After awhile, Arnold noticed that there were a lot less people in the ballroom. He glanced at his watch. It was almost one in the morning. His heart sank. He didn't want to say goodbye yet. And he really didn't want Helga to go back to her sister's place, not with the chance of Miriam being there. Thinking quickly, he tapped Helga on the shoulder.

"What?" She said. Arnold motioned with his head for her to follow him away from the group. Helga complied, her eyebrows raised. Once they were a little ways away, Arnold turned to her. "Um.. Listen... I don't want you to go back to Olga's tonight." He told her. Helga's eyebrows went higher. "Oh? And why's that?" Arnold sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "You know why..." He mumbled, looking at her with uncertain eyes. Understanding grew on Helga's face.

"Well, I could ask Phoebe if I could crash at her place..." "No, that's not what I meant!" Arnold said, grabbing her wrist. Helga raised an eyebrow at his outburst. "Sorry...Helga...I want you... to stay...with me tonight." Helga looked even more surprised. "Isn't this a little too soon, football head?" She asked. She pulled her hand away and placed them on her hips. Knowing what she meant, Arnold blushed. "That isn't what I meant Helga, you know that." Helga laughed, unassumingly at his now embarrassed expression. "I know that isn't what you meant Arnoldo. But why do you want me to go with you?" Arnold looked away from her, then he grasped her hand. After taking a breath, he spoke again.

"Because...If your with me...I'll know your safe. And if I'm being honest..." He took a step closer to her, their noses almost touching. "Now that were back together, I want to make up for lost time." He stopped then, hoping he hadn't scared her off, or worse, made her angry. Helga didn't look to be either of those things. Instead, she smirked at him.

"How is it you can be such a cornball and yet be so sweet at the same time?" She said. Arnold smirked back. "Talent," He replied. His smirk faded away, to be replaced with a gentle, hopeful smile. "So...is that a yes?" He ventured. Helga rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. If it'll help you sleep tonight, I guess I could stay over." She finally said. Eyes wide, Arnold threw himself at her, almost knocking her down. "You have no idea how happy you just made me Helga," He said into her hair. And he really was happy. This night couldn't get better. Releasing Helga, he ran his hand through his hair. Helga looked at him, smiling the biggest he had ever seen her.

"What?" He asked. "Nothing, just you." She replied, nudging him in the ribs. Arnold nudged her back, only with his shoulder. A sweet, semi-awkward silence fell between the two. Arnold was sure she could hear his heart racing. They both looked up as the dark lights went out overhead and soft lighting from lamps on the walls flickered into life. That was a signal that the party was indeed over. Reaching out and grabbing her hand, the two teens went back to the group.

"Oh, there you are Helga." Phoebe said. "Gerald just went to get the Jeep. You ready to go?" Arnold was about to respond, but Helga beat him to it. "Actually Phoebs, I'm gonna stay with Arnold. You don't mind, right?" Phoebe looked slightly taken aback, but in an instant her face split into a wide smile.

"No, of course not! I'll just go tell Gerald, ok?" She hugged Helga briefly, and Arnold though he saw her whisper something in Helga's ear, but the next instant she had scampered away. "Did Phoebe say something to you?" Arnold asked, the two of them also heading for the door.

Helga shook her head, smiling slightly. "For me to know and you not to, Arnoldo." Chuckling, Arnold handed a now very exhausted valet his ticket, and he lumbered off to get the Packard. "Whatever you say Helga."

On the way back to the boarding house, Arnold reached with his right hand to clasp Helga's on the seat. He never took his eyes off the road, but he would consistently trace patterns on her hand with his thumb. Once, at a red light, he brought her hand to his lips to kiss it, and was very pleased and surprised when she did the same. It seemed like now that they were back together, they couldn't seem to help but close any distance between them with physical contact.

When they were almost home, Helga spoke up for the first time since leaving. "So, since you have me now, what exactly are we going to do?" Arnold glanced at her, a slight smile on his face. "I'd figure we'd sleep in, have a late breakfast, then just laze around... watching movies, playing games, eat junk food. You know, like old times." Stopping the Packard at the boarding house, Arnold parked and looked at Helga warmly. Helga looked at him skeptically. "And when did I agree to spend the whole day with you? I thought I was just spending the night?" Arnold's heart sank a bit, but he wouldn't let her deter him.

"Oh? I thought I was clear, I wanted to make up for lost time." Helga laughed. "And so you thought this would be a good first date?" "Yeah, I did!" Arnold said, also laughing, but also a little stung. "Is it that bad?" He looked at Helga's semi-darkened face for a split second before she lunged across the seat and kissed him fiercely.

Arnold was surprised, but he relaxed into her kiss and responded back, his hands reaching up to cup her face. When they finally stopped to breathe, Helga was looking at him with slightly dazed eyes.

"Its perfect." She said before giving him a peck on the lips. She pulled away too fast for Arnold to react, but Helga looked satisfied. Smiling happily, she opened her door and got out of the car. Arnold followed, still reeling slightly from her earlier kiss. Helga was approaching the front door when Arnold stopped her.

"Lets use the fire escape. I don't want to wake anyone." Helga agreed, and they went to the side of the house. "By the way, how are you going to explain me tomorrow?" Helga whispered. Arnold shrugged. "Grandma and Grandpa knew about tonight, so I don't think it'll be a big deal. Besides, they love you. They'll just be happy to see you." He saw that Helga looked unconvinced, so he elaborated.

"Grandma helped Gerald learn the song, and she helped me with singing. Trust me, they would be concerned if you weren't here tomorrow." Helga snorted as they climbed the narrow staircase. Once on the roof, Arnold opened his skylight and climbed down the stairs. He turned to help Helga down, and he reached up to close the window.

Arnold watched Helga as she walked around the room, a faint smile on her face. It looked as though she was remembering all the times they had spend here, as children as well as when they had first been together. Helga stopped at his desk, looking at the cork board. The smile faded from her face as she looked at the photos, brochures, and other memorabilia from his lost parents. Arnold couldn't help but feel fidgety while she looked at it. Even with her, his parents had been a subject they never really spoke of. It wasn't that Arnold didn't want her to know, it was just that it was too painful to talk about. He walked over to her, and put an arm around her shoulders. She jumped slightly, tearing her eyes from the photo of Arnold and his mother, on his first birthday.

Arnold didn't like the look on her face. It was one he had seen on many people's faces...his friends... the boarders...his grandparents... it was the look of sadness, of sympathy and pity. Arnold didn't want people to feel sorry for him. He knew this was how things were, and on most levels, he accepted it. But to see Helga look at him that way... it was unbearable.

He grabbed Helga hard and pulled her against him. He put his head on top of her own, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Don't." He said in a rough voice. "Don't look at me like that... Don't cry for me. Please, Helga..." Helga moved away from him a bit so she could look at him, but she still had her arms around him tight.

"I'm not crying." She said. He opened his eyes and saw that it was true. She wasn't crying, but the look on her face seemed to be beyond tears. "I'm just...so, so sorry. You of all people don't deserve this. And I'm sorry that they never came home." Arnold nodded, but Helga wasn't done speaking.

"You do all these wonderful and kind things for everyone you meet. It's just so unfair that... that..." She faltered, and it seemed like she could no longer speak. Arnold turned around, pulling Helga with him towards the bed. They both sat down, but Helga was still looking at the cork board.

"Why do you keep all this stuff up?" She asked. Arnold shook his head. He didn't want to go into this...not now, not on this night. But upon seeing Helga's expression, he relented. "Because...somehow, it gives me hope. That one day they'll come back. If I take it all down, pack it all away, it'll be like burying them. And I can't do that. This way, they're alive for me... otherwise, its like they never were here in the first place." Helga seemed to have understood what he meant, because she didn't ask another question about his parents. After a moment however, Helga groaned.

"What is it?" Arnold asked in alarm. Helga was blushing, looking down at her clothes. "I...I just realized that I don't have anything to sleep in..." She murmured. Arnold felt his own cheeks go red too. "Oh, well... I might have something..." He stood up and walked to his closet. After some rummaging, he pulled out an old T-shirt and some basketball shorts. "Is this ok? They're both clean, and I don't wear them, so..." He trailed off, and handed Helga the clothes. The shirt was a faded blue, with the words "Evil Twin Two" on it in block letters. The basketball shorts were black and red, and were practically new. Gerald had given them to him when they were supposed to play basketball in freshman year. But when their coach quit, the team never got off the ground. Helga looked somewhat surprised, but she accepted the clothes gratefully.

"Thanks, football head. I'll go ahead and change now. Bathroom still at the bottom of the stairs?" Arnold nodded. "Remember, the last two stairs creak super loud. Be careful." She nodded and smiled at him before leaving the room. Arnold smiled to himself as he got out his own pajamas. He stripped down and pulled on a pair of long, red and black plaid sleep pants, and stopped to consider a shirt. He normally wore a shirt to bed, but some brave part of him wanted to leave his chest bare.

 _"Well, time for me to be a bold kid again,"_ He thought. He put his dress clothes in the hamper and had just sat back down on the bed when Helga opened the door. . Her eyes had popped a little in shock at seeing him shirtless. He couldn't help but stare at her as well. The shirt was overlong, covering the shorts, but it hugged her curves, and it was quickly apparent that she wasn't wearing a bra. He quickly averted his eyes, but he could feel hers raking up and down his body. _"Maybe this was a bad idea..."_ He thought to himself.

He felt Helga sit down beside him after she deposited her own clothes on the floor, and he brought himself to look at her. "Thanks again, for these." She said. Arnold nodded, his hand reaching up to his hair. "Arnold, you don't have to be nervous. Its just me, for crying out loud." Arnold chuckled then. Yeah, it was just Helga, but that was precisely the problem.

"I'm sorry..." He said. He took a deep breath, and put a hand on hers. "Its just...I guess I'm a little overwhelmed too." Helga laughed, and much to his surprise, she climbed into his lap, and put her arms around his shoulders. She didn't say anything, and she didn't have to. Arnold could hear his heart banging in his chest, and for a moment he was certain he could hear hers. All he could do was stare into her blue eyes, and she did the same. Before he knew it, and before she could react, his mouth was on hers, kissing her with a fervor he dint know existed. Helga quickly recovered and she was kissing him back with matching intensity. Everything seemed to fall away, and it was as though they were the only two people in existence. The very air around them hung heavy with some unspoken, unreadable desire... Arnold wasn't sure when Helga's shirt was no longer on her body, only that it was now on the floor. He felt a chill on his legs, and he knew that his pants had somehow vanished, only he wasn't cold...All he was aware of was how she felt. The delicious feeling of her body pressed against his own... her breath, tickling his ear. Her voice, saying everything and yet nothing at all, each word sending chills up his spine. The last clear thing he remembered was him pulling her closer, and tighter, and they fell backward on the bed, a tangle of legs, bedclothes and overpowering love.

Much later, Arnold woke with a start. He rolled to the side, and blinked. Helga was sleeping soundly beside him, the bed covers pulled up to her chin, concealing her. He golden hair was splayed out on the pillow, her breathing light and feathery. She looked so peaceful, and breathtakingly beautiful. Arnold gazed at her for a moment before his bladder reminded him why he was awake. Grumbling at having to leave Helga and his warm bed, Arnold slowly moved to the side until his feet hit the floor. It wasn't until he was standing that he realized he was completely naked.

Whirling around, he now noticed the various articles of clothing scattered around the room. His pajama bottoms were by the head of the bed as were his boxers, and Helga's shirt was near the foot. The basketball shorts he lent her were somehow near the door, and something small, pink, and lacy as nearby. Refusing to look closer, Arnold scrambled quietly to retrieve his boxers and pajamas, and he pulled them on as fast as he could. Once he was decent, he crept quickly to the door and down the stairs to the bathroom.

Once he was done, he leaned against the bathroom door and slid down, coming to a stop once he hit the floor. What had they just done? He put his head in his hands and groaned to himself. Ok, he _knew_ what they had done... but... he groaned again, this time in guilt. He was starting to remember now, and the more he did, the more terrible he felt. They had just gotten back together! Helga had even accused him of trying something like this back at the party, and he promised her that that wasn't the reason why he wanted her to stay over! He didn't even remember asking her if what he was doing was ok... if he had hurt her at all... on that, a particular image of Helga's face made Arnold's own burn in embarrassment...yet ironically he felt a sense of fierce pride that he had made her feel like that. His heart began to race as certain images swam in his head, as clear as photographs...Helga's eyes, half open and bright with anticipation... her hands running themselves over his back, his chest, pulling his hair...Her lips, swollen from kissing, forming one word as she reached her end; _"Arnold"_... He shook his head violently, trying to control himself. It would be a lie if he said he didn't enjoy it. It would also be a lie if he said he had never thought of Helga in that way, and that he had always hoped that they would get to share this moment together. But he had always imagined it differently, and now the more he thought about it, he wished that it had. He didn't regret it necessarily, just the way it had happened.

Arnold sighed, and was about to stand up when another thought occurred to him, and Arnold felt his blood run cold. He didn't use protection. He didn't know if Helga was on any kind of birth control, and he didn't even ask. Arnold slapped his own forehead in frustration. How irresponsible could he be? The last thing Helga needed right now was for her to become pregnant. How could he have not stopped and asked? Feeling like more and more of an idiot, Arnold pulled himself up and slogged his way up the stairs. It wasn't light out yet, but he knew that they were going to have to discuss it as soon as it was a more reasonable time. Just as he reached his door, he heard a muffled scream, followed by a groan.

Panicking, Arnold threw open the door and saw Helga thrashing in bed, clearly in the grip of a fearsome nightmare. Her eyes were clamped shut, and she was tangling herself in the blanket, causing her more distress. Arnold rushed over to her side, and ignoring the fact that she was still naked, he grabbed her shoulders in order to steady her.

"Helga! Helga, wake up!" He said loudly, praying no one would hear and come to the door. It was as though she didn't hear him, but he kept trying. "Helga, wake up! Its ok, your ok, your safe! Helga, please!" She woke with a shuddering gasp, staring wildly around her. Upon seeing Arnold, she seemed to relax, however her breathing was still ragged. Arnold put his hand on the side of her face. It was clammy and damp with sweat. Her eyes still looked out of focus, but her breathing was slowly returning to normal. Her mouth was moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"It was just a dream Helga," He said softly, brushing a tendril of hair off of her face. "Its ok, your safe. Everything's alright." He hugged her, rubbing her back carefully. He could feel her shaking, and he knew it wasn't because she was cold.

"Y-you...left. You...left me...a-again." Her voice was so quiet and hoarse, yet Arnold caught every word. And each one cut him like a knife. "M-M-Miriam...she...she hurt you...and I-I-I couldn't do...anything. And you...you said you were...d-done. With m-me..." Her voice cracked at her last words, and her shaking got worse. On instinct, He gathered Helga in his arms and set her on his lap, then grabbed the blanket from the floor and covered them both, cocooning her to him.

"I'm so, so, sorry Helga." He said, not noticing that his voice was shaking. He started rocking them back and forth, trying his best to console her. "You...you said...you h-h-hated me..." She choked out. Arnold cringed at her words, but shook his head.

"No no no...sweetheart no, don't say that. I could _never_ hate you. No matter what happens. I would never, ever hate you." He pressed his lips to her head, hugging her tighter to him. "I love you, Helga Pataki. I will always love you, and I will _never_ leave you again." He felt her nod against his chest, and she took a very shaky breath. Arnold listened closely as she recounted to him what Miriam had said to her before the party. He gritted his teeth. He had never hated this woman as much as he did now. How dare she tell Helga such things? How _dare_ she tell her that nobody would care if she died? He now also had a nasty feeling that this dream was brought on by their earlier...physical experience. And he never felt like a bigger idiot.

"Helga...listen to me." He started, and he put his hands on either side of her face so she had to look at him. "I am never going to leave you again. Never. Being without you...was the worst time in my life. I told you before, it was the biggest mistake I've ever made. As for what your mom said..." He took a second to collect his anger before continuing. "She is wrong. About everything. About you. About me. About _us_. What happened earlier..." He hesitated again, but he took a deep breath, phrasing his next words carefully.

"I don't regret what happened. I don't regret what we did. I wish we had been a bit more prepared..." At that, Helga gave a sad chuckle, causing Arnold to smile a little too. "But what we did...we were as close as humanly possible. Helga, we...we made _love_ , and it was the most beautiful thing to me. _You_ were beautiful. And I hope you feel that way too." He bent slightly and kissed her forehead, silently begging her to say something.

"I don't regret it either." She finally said. Arnold sighed in relief. When he looked at her again, she was smiling at him in a very adorable, embarrassed way. "In case you were worried...I've been on the shot since last year...so..." She looked down, as though trying to find the right words.

"Just so you know...that...was my first time." She continued, still looking down at the bed. She started toying with the edge of the blanket, a fierce blush spreading on her face. "Was...was I..." Sensing what she was trying to say, Arnold embraced her again, cutting off her next words.

"It was my first time too," He said, smiling into her hair. "And I said it before; you were beautiful Helga. I cant think of any other way to describe it. You...us...what we did was beautiful and incredible. And I love you." Helga pulled away from him slightly, a confused look on her face. "Why did you choose me?" She suddenly asked. Arnold looked at her, equally confused.

"You could have anyone in this world. Why would you choose me? With all my problems, and baggage, and-" Arnold kissed her to stop her from speaking. When he released her, he took advantage of her silence.

"Because your you. You know me like nobody else. Your kind, your loud, your passionate... your the most wonderful and frustrating and beautiful person I've ever known. Because when I look at you...I see in you everything that is good and right in this world. How could I not fall for you?" He smiled at her, and he hoped she believed him. He meant every word, and he didn't care if it was corny or cheesy. She was his everything, and it took him almost too long to realize it. And now that he'd did, he was going to make sure she knew it.

Helga simply looked at him before kissing him again desperately. With a groan, he responded, their lips dancing in perfect sync. Realizing how this ended the first time, Arnold pulled away first. He laughed at her slight pout, and he gave in with a quick peck on the lips.

"We ought to go back to bed. It's been a long night. Would you...like to get...dressed?" He asked awkwardly. Helga looked down at herself, as if only now noticing her lack of attire. Shrugging, she got out of bed and grabbed the shirt he had previously discarded. After pulling it on, she looked at Arnold with raised eyebrows, and he noticed he had been staring. Laughing, Helga got back into bed, and snuggled against Arnold's bare chest.

"Thank you, for what you said. I feel better now." She told him, turning her head to look up at him. Arnold smiled at her and nodded. "Of course. I meant everything I said." She nodded. "I know. And I love you too. So much." She kissed his chest, and she lowered her head into the crook of his neck, her hand resting over his heart. Arnold took the blanket and covered them properly before wrapping his arms around her. "Sleep well Helga." He said, before drifting off himself.

Sometime much later, Helga woke up, feeling more rested than she had felt in months. She rolled slightly and looked at Arnold's dorky alarm clock. It read eleven in the morning. It was earlier than she expected, what with everything that went on last night. Helga felt a warm, unfamiliar feeling course through her as she remembered everything that had happened. It felt so surreal... she had never felt this happy...or this scared. She wasn't sure where they were going to go from here, and that scared her. But she also knew she wasn't alone. She turned over to look at Arnold's sleeping face. He looked much younger than his sixteen years, and he was smiling a little in his sleep. She felt herself blush as she remembered all the wonderful things he had said and done... he kept telling her that she was beautiful, that she was the most wonderful thing in this world; but she still had a hard time believing him, but she desperately wanted to. She only hoped he knew that. He suddenly yawned and opened his eyes blearily.

"Hey," He said, smiling at her. "Hey yourself," She said, smiling back. "What time is it?" He asked her, sitting up to wipe his eyes. "A little past eleven. We slept in, just like you said." Chuckling, Helga got out of bed and hunted down her underwear and the shorts Arnold lent her. She could feel his eyes on her as she moved, and she didn't mind. Smirking, she bent purposely in order to give him a full view of her ass. After hearing him gasp appropriately, she straightened up and turned to him, and she was happy to see him flustered.

"Enjoying the view, football head?" She asked innocently as she pulled on her panties and shorts. Arnold looked like he wanted to say yes, but his gentlemanly nature forbade him from doing so. She sauntered over to him and put her arms around his shoulders.

"C'mon, I'm only teasing. There's no harm in you staring at me. I like it." She added hat last part more softly, and she meant it. It made her happy that he stared at her, and only her. Although it wasn't all sexual, it made her feel...protected, like he was always watching over her. And she liked it.

Arnold nodded, his face still red. "Whatever you say Helga," He said, smiling as he pulled her down for a kiss. After, he stood up, and took her hand. "Breakfast?" He said. "Or lunch," he corrected himself with a smile. She nodded, but she was still unsure about seeing the boarders and Arnold's grandparents. Arnold looked back at her as they left his room, and squeezed her hand.

"It ll be fine. Trust me. Grandma and Grandpa will love to see you." As they neared the kitchen, Helga could hear several voices conversing loudly. At some point, she heard the high-pitched cackle that could only be Gertie, and she smiled.

The chatter died as the two teens entered the kitchen. They stared shamelessly, and it was only then that Helga realized she looked less than presentable. Thankfully, Arnold spoke first.

"Morning everyone. You all remember Helga, right?" The boarders all erupted into a spout of congratulations as Arnold led Helga to a chair. "Hey, you were that little blonde girl with the scowl and the uni brow." Oskar Kokoshka said, peering into Helga's face. Helga leaned back on instinct, and almost bumped into Ernie Potts, who was sitting nearby.

"She doesn't have a uni brow Kokoshka, and use a mint while you're at it." Ernie said grumpily, flapping his newspaper. "Nice to see you back, kid." He said, briefly smiling at Helga before going back to his paper.

"Ah, yes, Arnold has mentioned you before, many times." Mr. Hyunh chimed in, smiling at Helga too. "You have grown up to be a nice young lady, no more scowling." Helga looked around for Arnold, but he was helping his grandmother at the stove. He turned and shrugged apologetically. Just then, Phil returned from the bathroom, and spotted Helga sitting at the table.

"Well, looks like your little plan worked Shortman!" He said, and he came and patted Helga on the shoulder. "Its nice to see you. Arnold had been fretting about whether or not his little love mission was going to work or not and-" "Grandpa!" Arnold chastised, coming back around to sit with Helga.

"Alright, alright..." Phil said, still chuckling. "Anyway, you kids sure are up late. What time did you get back anyway?" Helga was amazed. No one, not one person had even questioned that she was there. It was if she turned up every day, and today was no different. She was once again in awe of how accepting and loving Arnold's family really was. She smiled and let herself get lost in the conversation. Eventually Gertie came away from the stove, ladling out tomato soup as Arnold set the table. When she got to Helga, Gertie gave her a knowing smile and pecked her on the cheek.

"Its nice to see you again, Elanor. We've missed you." Arnold was now serving up grilled cheese sandwiches to go with the soup, and he sat down between Helga and Mr. Potts to eat. Soon the conversation turned to the party and of course, Arnold's big performance. He refused to say anything, he just slurped his soup in what was supposed to be a dignified silence, but Helga knew better. He was just bashful that the attention had turned to him. She recounted that he did really well, and that of course since she was here, that they were indeed a couple again. Admittedly, it felt strange to be telling them this, but it was Arnold's family after all. They all once again hooted their congratulations, and by that time, it was clear that Arnold was done being in the spotlight. He cleared his plate and mumbled something about the restroom before scurrying off. Helga couldn't help but laugh. She felt someone tap her shoulder, and she turned to find both of Arnold's grandparents smiling warmly at her.

"Pookie and I just wanted to say that were glad you two worked things out." Phil said, reaching out and grasping Helga's shoulder. "And know that if you ever need somewhere to go, you always have a home here, dear." Gertie added. "That's...really nice of you. Thank you." Helga said. She was genuinely touched by what they said. They both knew her parents, and knew to an extent that her home life sucked, but the fact that they would offer their home to their grandson's girlfriend just like that made Helga happy...even if a little bit sad. After saying she'd go check on Arnold, she excused herself and went upstairs.

She found Arnold at the landing, leaning against the wall. He looked deep in thought, but his expression brightened as she came closer. "Whatcha thinking about?" She asked, looping an arm around his waist. His smile faded a little at her question, which worried her.

"You mother." He said, making Helga draw back a little. "What about her?" She asked suspiciously. Arnold hesitated, but motioned for her to follow him to his room. "I meant what I said about getting you out of this situation Helga," He said, sitting down on the bed with her. "Yeah, but what can we do, aside from calling the police?" Helga said. Arnold looked up at her, confused.

"Why wouldn't you want to?" He asked. "Because...I don't want to put Olga through that. And although Bob isn't involved, he'll probably face charges too. And what'll happen to me? What will I do? Will they put me in the system, will I just be tossed out on the street? What if-" She was cut short by Arnold putting his hand over her mouth.

"You know _damn_ well I would never let you stay on the streets." He said, suddenly angry. "To be honest, I don't care what happens to them. I care about _you_. But...if you really feel that way, and I had a feeling that you did... I have another solution." He took his hand off her mouth, but Helga was only more confused. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Legal emancipation." He said. Helga thought for a moment. She thought she had heard the term before, but she wasn't entirely sure. "What exactly is that?" She asked. "Legal emancipation means that your parents can no longer interfere with your life. You can live on your own, and be completely independent. We would have to petition through the courts, but as long as the judge overseeing your case thinks you can do it, he'll grant it." Arnold sounded like he had given this notion a lot of thought. "How do you know this?" She asked him. "I looked it up. I thought that this way, we can get you out of the house, and we wont have to call the authorities. Miriam wont be able to bother you anymore. And if she does, you can sue her and press charges for violating the emancipation laws." Helga thought for a moment. It sounded tempting, very tempting. But there were still so many questions in her head. As though sensing this, Arnold pushed a piece of paper into her hands.

"I printed this at school the other day. It has more information, and where to go if you want to do it." Helga looked at the paper. It was very official looking, and it looked like a lot of legal jargon she knew nothing about. But Arnold had put a lot of effort into it, so the least she could do was read it over.

"Ok, I'll think about it." She said. She strode over to where her clothes from last night lay and carefully put the paper in her purse. She turned and saw that Arnold looked almost wary of her. Smiling, she went back over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, for doing this. I promise I'll read it over and give it some thought." She felt Arnold nod, and squeezed her. "I just want to do something to help you." He said quietly. "I don't want you to go back there, not while knowing she's hurting you. It...it kills me to think that she has done this to you for so long... and I never knew, or thought about it... and" "Shh..." Helga said. "I know. I didn't want anyone to know, and I thought it was best. I know better now. And I know I'm not alone anymore." She looked up at him then, and reached up to wipe away a tear that had fallen down his cheek. He smiled and grabbed her hand to kiss it.

"Promise me that if she does anything...if she hurts you, says something...I don't care what it is. I want to know. Please, tell me ok?" The look on his face was so intense, so desperate, that Helga couldn't bear to tell him no. And in reality, it would probably be better if she did tell him. "Ok, I promise." She said. She reached up and gave him a quick kiss before stepping out of his arms. "Well, that's enough drama for one mid-afternoon." They both laughed, and Helga placed her hands on her hips while Arnold wiped his eyes. "I believe someone promised me some video games, did they not?" Arnold narrowed his eyes playfully.

"Only if your prepared to lose, Pataki." He said. He grabbed the small remote that was on one of the bed shelves and pressed a button. A large panel opposite the couch slid out, to be replaced by a flat screen TV, and below an array of consoles and controllers. Helga gaped. How in the world did he afford this? Glancing at him, he laughed and answered her unasked question.

"Birthdays and Christmas for a couple of years. Apparently I'm hard to shop for, so the boarders and my grandparents buy me games. I don't play often, only when Gerald and some of the guys are over." Helga nodded, and stepped closer. There were no games displayed, but Arnold switched the TV on and asked what she wanted to play.

"You got Mario Kart?" She asked. At her question, Arnold gave her a wicked smile. "Oh, prepare to be obliterated. I am the king of Kart. No one has beaten me." Helga smiled. Oh, YES!

"Bring it on, Shortman." She said, plopping on the couch. Arnold sat next to her, and handed her a controller. "Let's-a-go!" He said, in a terrible Italian accent. Helga roared with laughter, and chose her favorite character, Princess Peach.

On the drive back to Olga's Helga was sulking in more ways than one. First, after playing over twenty tracks over three different games, she never once beat Arnold. Not once. She could tell that he was barely able to keep himself from gloating, and it made her even more mad. And second, she didn't want to go back to Olga's apartment. Although it was an improvement to her own home, it still wasn't the Sunset Arms. As they got closer, her mood went further and further south, and eventually she stopped speaking.

Arnold had taken her hand at some point, and although she didn't shake him off, it didn't help. "Hey," Arnold said, breaking the silence for the first time. "It'll be ok. Believe me, I don't want to let you go either. I had a great time with you today. Really." She turned to look at him, and he was still looking at the road, although the smile was apparent on his face.

"I'm going to miss you though. More than you'll know." He said, turning to look at her as they came to a red light. "Yeah?" She said, unable to keep the emotion out of her voice. "Yeah... hey, maybe I'll come see you tomorrow, and we'll go somewhere. Sound good?" Helga smiled. "Yeah, real good." The smile disappeared as Olga's building loomed overhead. Arnold whistled. "Wow, this place is something else." Helga barely heard him. She was staring straight ahead, at the front doors that led into the building: Olga was standing there, cell phone in hand, gesturing wildly with her other hand. Once she spotted Helga in the car, She hung up on whoever she was talking to and ran over to them. After practically hauling Helga out of the car, she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Helga, then Arnold.

"Both of you go inside this instant! The three of us are going to have a talk."

 **Hi, me again! So yeah...I have no clue how to write sex scenes, none at all. Sorry if that part sucked. To be honest, I wasn't planning on it, it just...happened. So there it is. Otherwise I'm really happy with how it turned out. This chapter was also really hard to write, as its kinda of a bridge between when more heavy stuff is gonna happen. Anyway, I will update as soon as I can once I recover a bit from surgery, and I will see all of you soon! Lots of love, bye!**


	12. Chapter 12 Family First

**Hello hello dear readers! Yes, I am back! I know it took me forever to finally post an update, and for that I am truly sorry. For those who may ask, my surgery went very well and I have made a full recovery! I had planned on updating much sooner than this, but due to computer issues, writers block, school and work I haven't had the time until now to update. However, now that things have (somewhat) settled in my life, I can get back to posting at a more regular basis. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy! I won nothing, all rights go to Craig Bartlett**

The two teens followed Olga, both of them sending each other questioning looks. Olga marched forward, pounded the elevator button, and tapped her foot furiously at its slow pace. Helga had never seen her sister so agitated. When the elevator doors opened, Olga ushered them inside and slammed the button to her floor. She then turned away from them, and didn't say a word. Helga's chest started to feel uncomfortably tight, and it wasn't because of her injury. Unconsciously, she reached out for Arnold's hand and squeezed it. Immediately she felt a returning pressure, and the tightness in her heart eased. The elevator stopped, and Olga marched forward.

"Go inside and sit at the table. All four of us are going to sit down and discuss this." Helga's ears pricked up. "Wait," she said. "What do you mean, _four_ of us-?" But her question was answered the moment she was in the big room proper. Sitting at the table with a large glass of wine in her hand, sat Miriam.

Helga reflexively stepped back. "What is going on?!" She said loudly, looking between her mother and sister in horror. Her immediate instinct was to run, to get away. The only thing holding her in place was Arnold's hand, trapped firmly in her own. "You said the three of us were going to have a talk. Why are you here?" Helga's gaze snapped back to her mother warily. She had a bad feeling...

Olga stepped forward. "Helga, we need to sit down and talk about this. I know it was an accident, you didn't mean to hurt Mommy, but we still need to-"

"WHAT?" Helga screamed. She wrenched her hand out of Arnold's grasp, and stalked around the table to look into Miriam's face. "You think I-" and she stopped short. Miriam's face was puffed-up and bruised, her right eye swollen shut. Arnold had come around the table too, and his brow furrowed at Miriam's face.

"What happened to you?" Helga asked flatly. There was no emotion in her voice, she just stared coldly into her mother's gray eyes. She had an inkling of what she was doing, and she needed to be sure, so she tried to rein in her temper. She needed to think clearly.

"Helga, we both know what happened last night." Miriam said softly. Helga noticed that her usual slur was somewhat diminished. She had also lost her cutting tone. "Have a seat, dear. Your sister wanted us to talk this out. I think we should at least humor her." Miriam smiled then, and it felt as though an ice shard went through Helga's heart. Oh yes, she knew what Miriam was up to. For now though, she decided to play along. Slowly, as though approaching a dangerous animal, Helga sat down in a chair across from her mother. Arnold did the same, but cast Helga a look of confusion. She reached for his hand again, and she placed both their hands on the table. Out of the corner of her eye, Helga saw Miriam's eyebrow quirk a bit. Olga meanwhile, sat next to Miriam.

"So Miriam," Helga started, but Olga cut her off. "Helga, its very rude to address your parents by their first name!" She then laid a hand on Miriam's arm, rubbing it soothingly. "Mommy, go on and tell them what happened, exactly how you told me." Miriam gave a long, deeply pained sigh, and patted Olga's hand with her other arm.

"Well, last night I heard that Helga was going to a party. I wanted to make sure she didn't do anything foolish, and I was still miffed about my treatment at the hospital." Miriam glanced at Arnold, and Helga felt a sudden pressure on her hand.

"I wanted to be sure that she wasn't going to the party with well... _you_." Miriam looked dead at Arnold this time, and her tone gained back some of its coldness. "Anyone who treats adults as you did to me and my husband has no business being around my daughter. However..." She seemed to suck in her shoulders a bit then, as though what she was about to say pained her to even think about.

"But as I was trying to talk to you Helga, you went into another one of your rages, and the next thing I knew..." Miriam gave a sob, and covered her mouth with her hand. Olga began rubbing her back, looking accusingly at Helga and Arnold.

"Its ok, Mommy... its ok." Miriam gave two loud sniffs, and straightened her back before continuing. "The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. You punched me so many times, I lost count. Only when you drew blood did you stop, say something about meeting your friends, then leave. I was still trying to...wrap my head around what happened when Olga found me." Miriam bent over, seemingly racked by fresh sobs. Olga got up and scurried to the kitchen island for some tissues. Placing the box in front of Miriam, Olga sat down again.

"Helga... I don't know where to start honestly. I thought we were past all these childish outbursts. Surely you know that there are better ways of dealing with your anger than this?" Helga looked at her sister impassively. She knew where this was headed. She knew exactly how this was going to play out. Any foolish hopes of having some sort of ally in her family were fading away. She opened her mouth to speak, but someone else beat her to it.

"Bullshit." Miriam looked up suddenly, Olga's eyes bulged and Helga's head turned so fast her neck cracked. She hadn't even noticed that Arnold had let go of her hand. His arms were crossed, and his eyes were narrowed.

"Excuse me?" Miriam spluttered. "You heard me." Arnold replied. Although his voice remained calm, Helga could see his arms shaking. "Helga did nothing to you. For one thing, if she did hit you, and did that much damage, I would have heard about it." Miriam looked scornfully at the young man, her voice one of seemingly forced calm. "Maybe she doesn't tell you everything, _boy_. Women have a lot of secrets. Maybe she didn't want you to know, and tarnish the misguided impression you seem to have for my daughter." Arnold raised an eyebrow, then uncrossed his arms and reached for both of Helga's hands. Helga gave him a look and placed them both on the table herself. "Look at Helga's hands, Mrs. Pataki. When we were kids, and even now, when Helga would hit someone, her knuckles would bruise, sometimes even bleed. She had even gone so far as to wear boxing tape around her hands to prevent it, but they would always bruise. And look, there are no bruises on her knuckles." Both of the women in front of them leaned over to have a look, and it was true. There were no marks on Helga's hands. Helga looked at Arnold in amazement. She hadn't even thought of that, or even thought of defending herself. But Arnold was once again her knight in shining flannel...

"So what?" Miriam exclaimed. "She still beat me to a pulp without so much of a second thought! How does not having any marks on her knuckles prove anything?"

"Because Helga is the kind of girl to wear her bruises and scrapes proudly." Arnold said simply. "She wouldn't hide them, or make excuses. Helga would tell me immediately if she had gone so far as to hit you. Despite her rather-" Arnold glanced at the blonde beauty beside him and a smile ghosted on his face before his gaze went back to Miriam "-Gruff exterior, she can't hide things from me. I would have known if something had happened between the two of you. And we had all night long to discuss it. I know Helga a lot better than you seem to think Mrs. Pataki. Also, I find it interesting that although your face is pretty messed up, your glasses seem to be in perfect condition. Why is that?" Miriam spluttered for a moment before saying quickly, "What are you talking about? What do my glasses have to do with this?" Arnold remained calm, letting go of Helga's hands and crossing his arms over his chest. "If Helga had hit you, she would have either broken them on impact or they flung off your face. If they had, Helga would have broken them anyway, just for good measure." Helga remembered the night before, when Miriam had been hissing such terrible things into her ear, that she hadn't been wearing her glasses...

"She did break them!" Miriam said. Her voice was losing more of its "softer" tone, and what little of her face they could see was turning red. "The glasses I have on now are my spares!" Helga was still looking at Arnold wide-eyed, while he and Miriam were staring defiantly at each other. Olga, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly spoke.

"But... Mommy. You didn't have your glasses on you last night. You left them in your car. I asked you, and you said you left them there, as the new ones gave you a headache." Olga spoke slowly, as though trying to answer the unspoken question in the room. Miriam looked at her oldest daughter, and her face slowly transformed into the expression Helga was so used to seeing; one of indifference and hatred.

"What exactly are you trying to say, Olga?" Her words were carefully measured, and Olga seemed to shrink a little under the older woman's glare. "Nothing, Mommy... its just...are you quite sure it was _Helga_ who-"

"Well," Miriam said harshly, standing up suddenly and wobbling a little, grabbing her wine glass. "I can see this was a waste of time. Clearly I am not being heard. I thought coming here I would receive some support from at least _one_ of my daughters. Turns out I was wrong." Miriam started tottering over to the door, and Olga stood up too. "Mommy, wait! You've had too much to drink! Let me drive you home!"

Miriam didn't turn around, she just waved her hand haphazardly behind her. "No, its fine. I'll just go home, a battered woman, with the knowledge that I can't count on family. I'll call, if I make it home alive." With that, she left, slamming the door behind her. Olga slumped on the ground, looking like a broken doll. Helga looked at her for a moment, then at Arnold. He smiled at her, and nodded towards Olga. Helga sighed, and walked over to her sister.

"Umm...Olga? You ok? You know your...on the ground, right?" No response. Helga laid her hand on her sister's shoulder, and she jumped. Olga turned to her, and her eyes were already swimming with tears. "Ba...by...sist...er..." was all she said before launching herself into Helga's arms, wailing hysterically.

"What the hell?!" Helga cried, staggering under her sister's weight. She felt a slight tearing feeling in her chest and her eyes widened. She looked in Arnold's direction and thankfully he caught on immediately and came to help. He was able to pry Olga off her and helped her into a chair. Helga massaged her incision... trying to get control of her breathing. Once the bawling Olga was out of the way, Arnold went back to Helga, looking concerned.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Helga nodded. "I'm fine... its just... been a lot...these last two days." She smiled sheepishly at Arnold, who turned bright red. He quickly looked away, his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Helga chuckled, and then moved back towards her sister.

"Olga, what in the world was that about? First your all over Miriam like a rash, now me! Exactly what is your deal?" Olga sniffed dramatically, dark streams of mascara running down her cheeks. Helga stalked over to the table and shoved the box of tissues at her sister roughly, then sat down next to her. Arnold moved to stand behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders, no doubt to keep her from strangling Olga. After blowing her nose, Olga looked at them with watery eyes.

"Oh, I didn't w-want to b-belive it baby si-sister... I kn-knew that you c-c-couldnt hurt Mommy, even if you were f-furious with her, b-but..."

"Spit it out Olga!" Helga barked. She had had just about enough crying for one day. And for Pete's Sake, will you stop sniveling!" "Helga," Arnold admonished gently, squeezing her shoulders. "Let her talk."

Olga seemed to have calmed down somewhat. She blew her nose nosily, and took a deep breath. She looked Helga in the eyes and said simply, "Something is wrong with Mommy." Helga snorted. "Yeah, no shit. She's an alcoholic."

Olga's eyes widened. "Helga, a lady shouldn't talk like that!" Helga rolled her eyes. "Well, I aint a _lady_ , so its fine. Anyway, don't change the subject. What are you getting at Olga? We know shes a crazy drunk,and shes always liked you better than me." Helga couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice as she finished. Olga looked at her with mostly sympathetic eyes, only holding a tiny twinge of fear.

"Helga," She said softly, reaching over and grabbing her sisters hand. Helga flinched but didn't pull away. "Mommy...isn't in her right mind. Something is troubling her. I'm certain she hurt herself last night, and tried to pin the blame on you."

Helga stared at her sister, not completely understanding. Picking up on this, Miriam continued. "When Mommy came here last night, you were changing for your party. She asked where you were, and how you were doing. She also asked about Arnold..." Her eyes flickered up to the boy behind Helga before settling again on her sister.

"She...she didn't seem like herself. I know that Mommy seems to like to drink socially from time to time-" Helga snorted. "You mean that by 'socially' you mean 'all the damn time' right? I cant remember the last time she was sober." Olga spared her sister a withering glare before continuing. "She had a rather large bottle with her, and she wasn't wearing her glasses...she told me that she had left them in the car, that they gave her a headache. I told her to sit down, and that I was going to take a shower. But then I suddenly remembered that I wanted to ask Mommy if she wanted to go pick up some yummy dessert from this absolutely _darling_ cafe I came across the other day when-"

"Criminy Olga!" Helga snapped, snatching her hand away from her sister's grip and covering her ears. "Would you just get to the freaking point already!" "Easy," Arnold said gently, rubbing Helga's shoulders. She hardly glanced up at him before turning back to her sister in utter frustration.

Olga took another deep breath, and looked into Helga's eyes. "When I opened the door, I heard...I heard what Mommy was saying to you." Helga's eyes widened. She leaned forward, stopping when Arnold's grip on her tightened. "What...what did you hear?" Helga said slowly. A deep feeling of unsettlement grew in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want Olga to know how twisted their mother really was. As much of a pain Olga had been to her in life, Helga was finally starting to develop something of a relationship with Olga. She didn't want to see her sister pulled into the Hell that was her life. She was already cursing herself that Phoebe and Arnold were involved, but she wanted to keep everyone else at arm's length.

Olga looked at Helga sheepishly, looking every part the child that had gotten caught with her hands in the cookie jar, instead of a full grown woman."Baby Sister...I heard the awful, awful things Mommy said to you. I don't know why, but she sounded so...so angry." Olga shuddered, and Helga mentally cursed herself. Olga continued, looking ashamed of herself. "I...I wanted to come out, and see for myself what was going on, and stop Mommy from saying those things... but I was so shocked, all I did was stand there! I'm so sorry Helga! I'm the worse sister ever!"

Olga burst into tears again, throwing her arms around Helga. Helga flinched, both in slight pain and somewhat disgust that Olga's waterworks had started again. Awkwardly, Helga patted Olga on the top of her head, looking up at Arnold, lost as what to do next. Smiling, Arnold bent down and gently pried Olga's arms off the younger girl, while offering her yet another tissue. Olga murmured a word of thanks, blowing her nose rather hard, and dabbing her eyes again. Helga shot Arnold a grateful glance, and he smiled at her before returning to his place behind his girlfriend, his hands back on her shoulders. He ran his thumbs over her skin in large circles, and Helga felt her shoulders relax a bit. Once Olga had composed herself yet again, she spoke once more.

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything, really. But I was so scared, I had never heard Mommy say anything like that before..." Helga nodded, silently urging Olga to continue. "After a moment, I heard the door close, and I assumed either you or Mommy left. I was going to go and see, but then I starting hearing some strange noises.

"Strange...noises?" Helga echoed. Olga nodded, confusion knitting her brow. "I heard some sort of clanking, then several thuds, and another louder sound. And then I heard the door again. Before I could think about it, I heard Mommy start to yell. I came running then, and saw her on the ground, crying and holding her face. When I asked her what was wrong, she said that you went crazy and starting hitting her." Helga raised an eyebrow, and then looked up at her boyfriend. His expression was most likely identical to hers. They both were very likely thinking the same thing: Miriam had beaten herself, in order to blame Helga. The question was however...why?

It was Arnold who spoke first. "So...Miriam...Mrs. Pataki...attacked herself? What could have caused that much damage to her face?" Helga sent him a look of wry amusement. "Probably the huge brandy bottle she had been carrying." Arnold nodded. That seemed to make the most sense. That still begged the question of why had she done it?

Turning back to her sister, Helga looked at he older woman quizzically. "Ok, so then what happened?" Olga's frown deepened, like she was still trying to understand herself. "When Mommy told me that you had done that, at first I was so...angry. I was going to go right outside and bring you back. But...Mommy stopped me. She told me to 'let you have your fun, and think you won.' That we would get to you later. When she said that...I'm not sure. It just sounded so unlike her. She refused to say much for the rest of the night. I had offered her my bedroom, and I was going to take your room, seeing how you didn't come back last night-" Olga then gave her sister a hard glare, causing both teens to shuffle a little embarrassingly. "But she refused, and slept on the couch. She also refused to give me the bottle of brandy, instead she drank most of it before passing out."

Helga repressed another snort. "And you just let her drink it all?" Olga gave her younger sister a dry look. "She was obviously in pain, Baby Sister! I did what I could to make her comfortable, that's all!" "You enabled her, you mean." Helga shot back. "Helga!" Olga exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. "Mommy is obviously not in her right mind! Tonight and last night prove that! Although I'm relieved that it wasn't you who hurt her, she clearly needs our help!" Helga opened her mouth to fire back, but Arnold beat her to it.

"Olga, how exactly did you know that Helga wasn't responsible?" He said calmly. Olga looked up at him from her chair, her brow furrowed again. "When you were defending Helga, and when Mommy was talking to the both of you, something just didn't feel right. And when her story started to fall apart, I knew that you hadn't done it, Baby Sister. And then Mommy left so suddenly, and I knew that there was something more to it. The question now...-" Olga looked up at Helga and Arnold, as if pleading with them, "- Is how do we help her?"

Helga gaped at her older sister. _Help_ her? Was she crazy?! _She_ was the one that needed Olga's help, not Miriam! Worriedly, she looked over at Arnold. He was still behind her, but his gaze had hardened somewhat. Noticing their reactions, Olga blinked a few times, confused. "Helga? Did you hear what I said?" "Oh, I heard ya loud and clear Olga." Helga said, standing up from her chair and crossing her arms. " _Loud_ and clear. Do you honestly think I'm going to help Miriam? After what she just pulled!? _"And whats shes been pulling for the last few years..."_ She added in her head. Olga looked shocked, and a little angry. "Of course I expect you to help me, Helga! She's our mother!"

Helga glared at Olga, her expression unreadable. Arnold came around the chair he was standing behind and tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but Helga shook him off. She stepped up to Olga, and although Helga was younger, she stood practically nose to nose with her sibling. Her eyes flashed dangerously, but Olga didn't back down. Arnold looked helplessly between them, unsure of what to do. Helga squared her shoulders and said softly, "That woman...that _monster_...isn't my mother." Olga gasped, her hand shooting to her mouth. She recovered quickly though, balling her fists at her sides. "Helga, how can you say such a thing!" She said furiously. "Easy." Spat Helga. "You have no idea of the Hell I've gone though!" "And you have no idea what _she's_ going through either!" Olga shouted, her eyes screwed up in anger. "She's our mother, and though I don't know why she hurt herself or why she tried to lay the blame on you, but its obvious that shes sick! She's doing this for attention Helga, just like how you used to hit little kids yourself!"

Helga took a step back, shocked. She had never seen Olga so angry, but that wasn't why Helga was suddenly reeling. _"Attention?"_ She thought. _"All this time, she thought I beat kids up for attention?"_ Helga stared down her sister, her own hands balling into fists.

"Don't pretend that you know me, Olga." Helga snapped, stepping forward to get in her face again. "You've always been self-absorbed, but don't get so full of yourself and pretend you know what my life looks like. You don't know _shit_ about me." It was Olga's turn to falter back, but she recovered just as quickly. She stalked toward her little sister, her fist raised as though to strike her. Arnold started to come forward but Helga flashed him a look, and he stopped. Helga's eyes turned toward her sister slowly, blue meeting gray.

"Do it." Came her soft voice. Olga froze, her hand shaking in midair. Helga's voice was low, and deadly clam. "Do it. Hit me. I'll add your bruise to all the others." This time, Olga fell back, and lowered her hand. She still looked angry, but mostly she looked confused, and even fearful.

"What did you say?" She asked faintly. In answer, Helga reached down and pulled the hem of the purple blouse she had worn to the party the night before up over her head and tossed it on the floor. There, in all its glory, was her still-healing incision, as well as the fading bruises. The stitches had come out two days prior, and though it had shrunk a little, it still looked raw and angry. Helga's hand lightly touched the worst of the bruising, where you could still see a shoe-shaped mark. Olga's eyes followed her sister's hand, paling at the sight of it.

" _This_ ," Helga said, "Is what our _mother_ did to me." Olga shook her head slowly from side to side, taking another step backward from Helga. Her eyes never left the injuries on Helga's chest, but she suddenly looked like a cornered animal. Helga stepped forward, attempting to close the distance between them. But Olga was stubborn. For every step Helga took forward, she took one back until she bumped up against the wall. She fearfully watched her younger sister step closer to her, forcing her to look more closely at the large mark.

"She did this to me Olga. I don't know why, but she did. She kicked me down the stairs, all because I brushed against her while going to my room. The kick alone broke two of my ribs, and the fall only made things worse. I had a collapsed lung and I was slowly going to drown in my own blood. _She_ did this! She hits, punches, and kicks me like I'm her personal sandbag! Its been going on for years! And you want to _help_ her?!"

Helga's voice rose and broke, a sob escaping from her throat. Her breath hitched, and pain suddenly bloomed in her chest. Arnold was at her side in an instant, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back soothingly. Helga glared at Olga, who still held that deer-in-the-headlights-look. Rubbing at her eyes roughly, Helga sent a grateful at Arnold before straightening up. She didn't leave his embrace, rather she clutched his forearms in order to gather herself. Olga slowly removed herself from the wall, and approached Helga, her hands outstretched. Helga stiffened when Olga's hands gently touched the marks, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Mommy...Mommy did this to you?" She whispered. Helga nodded, unsure of what else to say. "Helga..." Olga whispered again, looking into her sisters eyes for a moment before launching herself at the younger girl, and Arnold for that matter, and smothering them in a bone-crushing hug.

"I-I-I'M SO S-S-S-SORRY!" She wailed, her weight finally too much for the two before all three of them toppled over with a yelp. Arnold managed to angle himself so he hit the ground first, and Helga landing on top of him. However, that meant she got the full blunt of Olga's weight on her front.

"OW! OLGA, GET OFF!" Helga roared, pushing with all her might against her, which proved difficult as Arnold's arms were still holding onto her frame. Thankfully, Olga retreated immediately, sitting on her knees in front of them while continuing to wail. Helga sat up, breathing as deep as she was able to, her hand on her heart. Arnold hovered next to her, looking at her with concern.

"Helga, do you need anything? Do you have any pain pills or something?" Helga nodded, gesturing to the room she was currently using. "My bag...little orange bottle...bring me two..." She managed to rasp out. Arnold took off then, and she heard him rummaging around in the room before he returned, said bottle of pills clenched in his hand. While he busied himself with getting Helga water, Helga looked at her older sister's pitiful figure. Scooting closer to her, she grasped her shoulders and shook them firmly.

"Olga. _Olga_. OLGA!" The wailing stopped at the third time, Olga looking at her younger sister with incredulous eyes. Before she could say anything, Arnold had returned, handing Helga a glass of water and two small pills. He glared reproachfully at Olga while Helga swallowed the pills and downed the glass of water.

Wiping her mouth, Helga suddenly smirked at her sister. "So Olga, still wanna hit me?"

 **Hi, me again! So yeah. Now Olga is in on the secret. What will she do with this information? You'll have to wait and see. Now, as I'm sure some of you are wondering, "why is Miriam doing this?" Well, we will get some insight next chapter, and more will be revealed as time goes on. Thanks for reading, and please rate and review! See you next time!**


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